By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were fined in court yesterday after being found with a quantity of marijuana earlier this week.

Leroy Sands, Jr, 25, pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply after officers found him with two grams of marijuana and marijuana cookies on February 13.

Police said they were on mobile patrol in the East Street area when they observed a Nissan Cube with two male occupants inside, one of whom was Sands.

After the vehicle was stopped, police said the men started acting in a suspicious manner.

As a result, both men were searched. While searching Sands, officers said they discovered 12 plastic bags containing suspected marijuana in the pocket on his right side.

A clear bag containing a number of multi-coloured cookies with suspected marijuana was also found.

The discovery resulted in Sands’ arrest. During his interview with police he admitted to having the drugs.

During yesterday’s hearing before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis, Sands owned up to the offence.

However, the accused insisted the drugs were for his personal use and not for sale.

He told the court he bought the drugs to eat while attending a Super Bowl party with his friends on the day in question and admitted to having a drug addiction.

In response, Magistrate Rolle-Davis told the accused that he couldn’t overlook the fact he was convicted of a similar offence just last year.

He also told Sands that there were many times he could have sought professional help on his own since his conviction last year, but noted he chose not to do so.

The magistrate added that the lack of effort on the part of the accused to get help showed he had not learned from his past lessons.

As a result, he was fined $5,000 and told that failure to pay the fine would result in 18 months behind bars.

Keith Stubbs Jr, 25, was also charged with drug possession.

Stubbs, who is currently out on bail for a different matter, was arrested after police found five grams of marijuana in his home on February 15.

After pleading guilty to the offence, Stubbs told the court he used the drugs for personal reasons.

When asked if he was employed, the 25-year-old told the magistrate he worked for a yachting company.

It was also revealed that he was convicted for drug possession in 2017.

Having taken these matters into consideration, the magistrate ordered him to pay $500.

He was told that failure to comply would result in five months behind bars.