A 26-year-old man from the community of Castle Bruce now owes the court $20,000.00 following his guilty plea to possession of and possession with intent to supply $91,682.00 worth of cocaine.
Damien Berkitt was arrested and charged for having in his possession 3433.8 grams of cocaine on July 27, 2021, at Pottersville with the intent to supply the said drugs to another individual(s).
According to the facts of the case, about 4:30 p.m on the aforementioned date, members of the drug squad unit received certain information and as a result, went on duty in Pottersville at Maxmart Supermarket.
Upon arrival they saw Berkitt sitting under a shed and he was approached by Constable Lawrence who informed him of his intention to search him for controlled drugs.
During the search, nothing liable for seizure was found on his person but inside a black backpack which the defendant had in his possession, a black plastic bag was discovered which contained three packages of cocaine
The Constable continued his search and inside the same backpack, another plastic bag was found with foil wrapping containing more of the drug. When questioned about it, Berkitt replied, “cocaine that there for someone to test for me.”
Berkitt was then arrested and transported to the Roseau Police Station.
Whilst in Police custody, the drug was was weighed, tested and proven to be cocaine. A charge was formally preferred against the defendant on July 29, 2021.
At the court hearing, Attorney for Berkitt, Wayne Norde, told the court that his client was very remorseful for his action and pleaded with the Magistrate to temper justice with mercy.
Norde said the 26-year-old electrician is an expecting father and his action was motivated by his financial disadvantage.
He said Berkitt had found the drugs but “wasn’t sure what it was so he was going to have it tested.”
With the maximum penalty for possession with intent to supply drugs at $150,000 or three times the street value, and having taken into account Berkitt’s guilty plea and his attorney’s plea in mitigation, Magistrate Laudat fined the defendant $20,000.00.
From this amount, Berkitt was ordered to pay $3,000.00 forthwith; in default he would be imprisoned for six months. He is to pay an additional $8,500.00 by December 31, 2021 or face six months in prison whilst the remaining $8,500.00 should be paid no later than March 31, 2022 or Berkitt will be imprisoned for two years.
There was no separate penalty for the charge of possession of cocaine.
This shows it’s time to legalize marijuana and allow businesses to spring up using existing strategies like they have in places like Colorado and Amsterdam (without reinventing the wheel). This will also free up your police resources to curb such local cases of hard drugs.
“During the search, nothing liable for seizure was found on his person” this is an absolutely useless statement. I see why so many drug dealers walk away. All that was needed to be said was drugs was found in his possession. Based on that statement all the guy had to do was put the bag aside say it was not his and he does not know who it belongs to and he walks.
If this guy is any type of electrician, he should not have to peddle drugs to make a decent living. I know electricians in DA who are doing quite well plying their trade.
He should be fine double the street value of the drugs. That would send a clear message that getting caught with large quantities of drugs will be painful on the pocket.
The imposed fine is not an effective deterrent Mr. Laudat. $20,000.00 or two years in prison? The man would prefer wait the two years in prison and keep his money. What about $50,000.00 cash or 15 years with a minimum of 10 years at Stockfarm? Such a regime of fines would send a strong warning.
Mr. Laudat, you opted for the low end of the fine regime. $150,000.00 maximum and you allow an attorney to come to court to literally repeat the same jargon “he is remorseful and did not waste the court’s time. He is a first time offender”. How much did he pay the lawyer to say that?
Yes he lost his drug money $90,000.00. He may lose another $20,000.00. Is that enough? Is he really a first time offender and is truly remorseful?
Good! Selling poison to destroy the brain of the young and not so young. Work earnestly for your money. What happens to a honest day’s work for a honest day’s pay?
Actually the selling of “drugs” is in fact an earnest trade. It support the basic laws of commerce which is supply and demand. Do we fault the supermarkets and rum shops for destroying the many lives and families through their sale of alcohol? Granted it is the sale of illegal substances, selling drugs TO ME has been an honest trade where the supplier meets the demands of the buyer at an agreed price. With satisfaction comes return sales. With disappointment, comes a fall in your sales. The issue with the drug trade is that it has become demonized and many players have been forced to take ruthless actions to ensure the continuation of their lucrative business venture. Again, all a result of the “war” on drugs. This next quote is from google, ” Czechia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland are among a handful of countries that have decriminalized drug use and possession for personal use and that have also invested in harm reduction programmes. Consequently, diagnoses among…
Come on, cocaine? The sle of illegal substances should never be condoned especially illicit, harmful substances. If you justify this transactional arrangement then you can use the exact argument to justify human trafficking. Stop being facetious.
over 3 kilos of yayo worth only EC$91,682??? waw. but saying “cocaine that there for someone to test for me.” lol ok bro.
Is this low fine and penalty a joke! Don’t we see the number of lives on the streets of Roseau that cocaine has destroyed? For a cocaine dealer this fine is peanuts! This fine is almost encouraging drug dealing! The Government could pass more stringent laws for cocaine dealing! But instead is marijuana this Government fighting. The killer is this cocaine. Put cocaine dealers away for half their life and that will stop them!