Charlestown wash-bay owner jailed for four years over ganja

A Charlestown businessman was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of cannabis possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Leroy Robinson, a wash-bay owner of 18 Lombard Street, Charles-town, was handed the sentence by Magistrate Judy Latchman, who before ruling, stated that she was satisfied he had control of the substance. She also said that given the weight of the narcotics, she believed the drugs were meant for trafficking.

Robinson was charged earlier this year with having 38 grammes of cannabis in his possession for trafficking on February 19 at Broad Street, Charlestown. The police had said that ranks had seen him throw a bag containing the narcotics over a fence.

Magistrate Latchman’s ruling, which included a fine of $30,000, was influenced by several considerations namely the mitigating factors, the quantity of the substance, the manner in which it was concealed, the prevalence of the offence and the need to prohibit others from committing such an offence. Her words to Robinson before he was escorted from the prisoners’ dock were: “Do not try this again.”