“You’re a nice fisherman and you’re a nice farmer. But you did one bad thing and the one bad thing you did is destroying yourself and the young people of Grand Bay…,” are the words Chief Magistrate Evelina Baptiste leveled at a convicted Grand Bay drug pusher this morning after he pleaded guilty to the possession and intent to supply 600 grams of cannabis.
“I see too many youngsters in your community of Grand Bay…school children who are hooked drugs… You can do better for your community. You are contributing to that… You are pretending to be nice; you’re behaving like the devil,” she blurted.
Forty-year-old Marcelis Xavier had told police after being caught with the substance at his home during a search on June 22, “Officer I do a little fishing and a little thing on the side because things are hard.”
An amount of EC $605 and US $4 which was found in Xavier’s right front pocket at that time was also confiscated by police.
According to the court, the street value of the said drugs is $1,500.
In mitigation, Xavier apologized for his actions and asked the magistrate to do him the “favour” of exercising mercy in sentencing him. The magistrate replied, “We don’t do favours here. You’ve come to the wrong place for a favour. Go find an ice cream shop maybe they will give you a favour ….”
“I am real sorry Mam,” Xavier pleaded.
“Don’t tell me sorry. You must tell yourself you’re sorry…Go and apologize to the peoples’ children…” she advised him.
Xavier was fined $4,000 for the possession of cannabis conviction. He is to pay that sum by July 30, 2010 or he will face six months imprisonment.
He was also fined $2,500 also to be paid by July 30 or he will face five months in jail.
I say lock them up cause they are causing people children to go all stupid. marijuana is illegal and thus the police has to uphold the law of the country. Fine them of course, you break the law you pay the price.
I do agree that there should be stipulations, cause if someone is making tea with the herb by all means there is no reason for arresting them. The law just has to make room for medicinal uses.
Smoking it makes it dangerous to your health and psyche.
If you meet someone smoking a joint on the side of the road that is disrespect to the police and society. they should be arrested and spend a night in jail or something but not charged a fine.
Dominicans need to understand that the law is the law and you can’t keep getting away with things. If the law enforcers are not allowed to do their jobs we would be in a lawless society. Is that what we want Dominica to become.
They waay they busting Grandbay guys for just some weed dese days I think they will drive Grandbay back to the baad days when police fraid and were not to even patrol the village. Yes it can happen again 'no doubt' if they keep dis … up' And de yout dem dese days are far more lethal. Not encouraging such but Grandbay youth have shown they can take tings into their own hands when pushed too far. Truss me!
But what does this judge and Tiyani dem care….they doe give a … and they don't understand they are outsiders lookin in, can't relate. Weed is not that big a deal in out society, is the hard-drg dealers, child molestors, real criminals that Grandbay folks will stand behind them for prosecuting in such a way. But again they are let out with lesser or similar charges. If they keep harassing Grandbay youth like dat the old days can and will come back to where police chief used to send or threaten to send officers they don't like to Grandbay as punishment. Truss me!
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i have seen a man fined $5000.00 dollars for 1000lbs of weed in calibishi and a man fine $2500.00 dollars for a spliff in wesley court. where is the consistency. the magistrates in dominica are full of crap and only abuses the offfice of justice to their likes and fancies. since dominicans has endorsed corruption which is ungodly then we have brought everything ungodly to our island..
Think she meant treat (Party Favour)
RASTA 8, I want you to sell me the secret to put some Judges to sleep!
Garcon,
Uncle Oscar must be turning in his grave. I know he taught you right from wrong.
that judge is a real idiot , look at the murderers on the street why do they get away with murder ,just for weed ? doh worry they know dam well is obeah they making to get away , foolish ,,Marslis y ou should have done a little obeah to teber the judge.put her to sleep.while thye case calling., lol lol lol .
Me I taking jail eh….weed, weed stupessssssssss de man the sexually harassed de child der in Roseau he out already, ready to fondle and finger ppl''s children is dat dat destroying our society….stupesssss
Leave the herbs alone…I cant believe the judge fined him so much for a little bit of weed…Cmon judge, are you an idiot?…He's going ot have to sell more weed to pay that ridiculous fine… he even admitted by his own words that he's a fisherman but because things are hard he sells a little weed on the side to make ends meet…Personally, I think this judge is an idiot: what does going to an ice cream shop have to do with doing someone a favour… I think she' getting the words favour and flavour mixed up…
Like UPTOWN REBEL I thought he was caught with coke or crack not $1,500 worth of weed. It is a waste of resources to expend so much time and money persecuting people for possession of weed. I not advocating doing nothing, but look around the world, see what other nations are doing, they are sure not locking people up for small quantities of marijuana.
To Uptown Rebel,
I see your point and you have hit the nail on the head. There is nothing else for me to add to it.
Man, when I first started reading that article I thought is coke they hold the man for wee….
Who does she think she is? She lets off worse people with less disposition, she knows who I'm talking about.
Take the jail time, behave in the jail, in 6 to 7 months you out boy Maslis…F..these f'ing people…..Behanzin would have charged more. Hope they donate their EXORBITANT SALARIES to build larger jails. He not a crack dealer, just zeb….Burnn weed man.
Worse was done to Americans about drinking a little beer and alcohol during prohibition…….their kids 'may' turn into hard-drug adicts, FOR DOING THAT TO YOU and not BECAUSE OF weed.
Oh please,give me a friggin break…In this day and age just for a little weed? c'mon…There are bigger criminals out there that they need to go after. Bunch of freaking hypocrites..It's peoples children alone he is selling weed to? ..That's just an excuse.If we care about children so much,then why don't we create opportunities for them.Why don't you have after school programs and facilities for them to go to?. An idle mind is the devil's workshop…Find some way to get those kids off the streets,so they won't have to think about buying and smoking weed or get involve in criminal activities.If it's not him,then i'm quite sure they will find someone else to buy it from.
Things are hard enough in Dominica as it is. Just to quote Marcelis..”I do a little fishing and a little thing on the side because things are hard”…Of course things are hard. He has to feed himself and maybe a family too. What should he do,starve himself or his family?.And how do you think he is going to pay his fine, can he do it by selling fish?
Don't get be wrong,i am not codoning,nor am i a proponent of selling drugs.But i am sympathetic to ganja.I think is should be regulated or legalized in some form,and you must be over 21yrs. of age and above if you want to use it.That should be your choice.
Look here,i am not blaming Govt. for this,what i am saying is Govt.have to create better opportunities for its citizens so that they can at least work their way out of porverty,and pursue happiness.
One of the obligations of Govt.is to facilitate the creation of opportunity for it people. Then maybe they won't have to resort to criminality to earn a living.
In one instance the judge called the guy “a nice fisherman and a nice farmer”….then she turned around and said to him..”you are pretending to be nice,but you are behaving like the devil''?….Please!.we are not naive,we know who the real criminals are. Let us examine our selves and our conscience.We need to start taking a different view of ourselves and our worth.
Positive vibrations and positive solutions……
I know that i am going to get a lot of flak for this,but so be it…….Peace.
he doesnt want to go to prison, so is still drug he gonna sell to make the 6500