NA man gets two years for ganja after claiming medicinal use

-facing trafficking charge alongside Cane Grove woman after 14lbs bust

Timothy La Fleur
Timothy La Fleur

A New Amsterdam man was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail for the possession of cannabis, which he claimed he was using for a medical condition.

In addition, Timothy La Fleur, 34, of Errol’s Ville, New Amsterdam, was yesterday also charged along with Nandi Barker, 37, of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, over the possession of 14.4 pounds of the drug, which police re-covered in an interception at a Berbice Bridge checkpoint.

La Fleur and Barker both appeared before Magistrate Peter Hugh at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court, where the charges were read to them.

Nandi Barker

La Fleur heard that on Monday, March 25th, 2019, he had 267 grammes of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

He pleaded guilty to the charge.

The man told Magistrate Hugh that he suffers from a heart condition and claim-ed that he has the necessary medical documents at home to substantiate his claim. He also pointed out that he is the father of two children and said that he is the sole breadwinner for his family.

However, the magistrate sentenced the man to two years in jail and fined him $240,300 for the offence.

Meanwhile, La Fleur and Barker were jointly charged with the possession of 6,539 grammes (14.4 pounds) of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. After an unrepresented La Fleur, and Barker, who was represented by attorney Kim Kyte, pleaded not guilty to the charge, the magistrate refused bail and remanded them to prison.

They will both return to court on April 9th.

Police say that on Monday, around 11 pm, Barker and two other women were attempting to exit Berbice via the Berbice Bridge in a car, PNN 9408, which was stopped at the police checkpoint located at the bridge entrance.

During a search of the vehicle, ranks discovered eight compressed parcels containing leaves, seeds and stems, suspected to be cannabis. Initially, all three women were arrested, however, two of the women were subsequently released from police custody.

Stabroek News was told that hours after the arrest, based on information received during the investigation, Berbice lawmen went to La Fleur’s house to seek him for questioning. It was there that he was also discovered with the cannabis that resulted in his sentencing yesterday.