A drug dealer caught in the Botanical Gardens four years ago will have to pay the court $40,000 or spend two years behind bars.
Edward Ryno, 39, appeared before Magistrate Candia George at the Roseau Magistrate Court on Thursday morning and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on the charges of possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
The Mahaut bus driver was caught by police with 1,000 grams of cocaine on July 2008.
Authorities estimate the street value of the substance to be $27,000.
According to the facts of the case from police prosecution, on July 25, 2008 a police officer of the drug squad was on duty at the police headquarters when he received certain information which he acted upon. At about 12:50 pm a bus arrived at the Botanical Gardens and police observed the defendant disembark with a black plastic bag in his hands which he placed in a tree.
The constable then approached the defendant and identified himself as a police officer.
“I don’t know nothing about that,” the suspect said when police inquired initially.
After the constable informed him that he had been observing his activities and saw where he placed the plastic bag Ryno changed his story. “Boy you see what I get myself in but I swear when I get through this once it won’t happen again,“ he reportedly said.
He later told police that he was short of installation at the bank and was carrying out the transaction to pay for his bus.
In a plea of mitigation on the defendant’s behalf, lawyer Dawn Yearwood asked the court to tender justice with mercy. Yearwood told the court that the defendant no longer had the bus since it had been stolen and had crashed. The lawyer also pointed out that Ryno had not been working for a while and wanted the court to give him sufficient time to make payments.
“He may be able to fall back on relatives and friends,” Yearwood said.
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate George considered that it was the defendant’s first conviction and that he pleaded guilty to the offence.
Cocaine will blow your brain! But a little Ganja is nice, they make right catching anyone with cocaine! Don’t tell me about your manmade laws blah blah blah Ganja is the healing of the nation a GOD given right!
chambi boy since u born u have bad luck everything u try it failing bus,marriage,drugs,job etc my advise to u as my friend is try jesus i knw it may be hard but chater will guide u through it
SHATTA…REALLY”….U ARE A SNITCH…..HOW MANY TIMES I PICK U UP..AND U TELL ON YOUR FRIENDS..SO U COULD GET OUT…STOP YOUR B.S……U ARE THE USER…
Grandbay hmmmmm!! !!!!!!!!!!!!
Where Grandbay coming in????… Not a Mahaut bus driver they say?… You foolish?… Everything is Grandbay for allu…
The wicked can’t escape when judgement meet up with him.Why do some of u always have a problem when a drugman is caught?Don’t u all know that one who is a drug dealer is committing a wicked and abominable act?U GODless people.
I don’t condone nor support drug dealers however from the details it seem like a street smart person would simply deny ownership of the drugs get a defense lawyer and walk away untouched. A plastic bag in a treat the botanical garden could be anybody’s. Probably it would have been smarter to catch the bus driver with the drugs in his possession rather than to wait for the accused to tuck the drugs into a tree at the botanical garden.
I just cannot stomach such ignorance why there`s not a lecture series on all aspects of law system with a view to educating our people on the right and wrong I think our media houses should step up and take charge and have people in law enforcement and the right of the citizenary in our country. Case in point “Inocent” as is referred. seems to have no clue what is direct evidence. The police officer witness the crime what more do you want. Forgive them Lord.
well said.
cocaine,that’s what have the young ple going around stealing
hey cha
mbers i hope u get yourself in that again
@ Shatta! Boy doh try to put us down for de action of a few! how would u like it if we say all……people(those idiots from………) a.. just like shatta! Show respect man! Luv yourself and doh draw disrepect to it.
this guy should get 10 yrs for being dumb there was no way the police could have won this guy in court the stuff was not found on him there was no withness. man this guy is really d
I KNOW. COCAINE ON STREET HE SAYING IS HIS OWN. IS MY WORD AGAINST YURS. U SEE ME HIDE THING. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING U DIDN’T CATCH ME WITH IT. POLICE NEED TO COME TO THE US AND REALLY GET SOME TRAINING ON HOW THEY SHOULD HANDLE THESE CASES. INSTEAD THE GOV’T WASTE MONEY DOING STUPIDNESS. THEY CAN PAY TO HAVE OUR COUNTRY’S POLICE OFFICERS WELL EDUCATED, WHEN COMES TO THESE SITUATIONS. IF D GUY WAS A BAD MAN HE WOULD JUST BLACAE D POLICE AND RUN HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.THIS WAS MEANT TO B FUNNY.
Not only you admit you`re funny you forgot to say how dum you are . The problem with guys like you is thinking that the sun wont shine because you all think that the same brothers and sister you left back home are so unlightened and is not exposed to the same thing as you seems to suggest because you live outside of Dominica. I challenged you to point to one instance where you witness the police in the U.S.carried out an arrest. Why some people think just because they live outside of Dominica that utomatically makes them smarter than Dominicans.at home you have not gotton it the world is just a stroke away from any body who wants to Educate themself without leaving Dominica, is jokers like you that travel to Dominica and upon landing start Yanking to impress people who does not know better but the joke is on you and you know it. Mind you I also resides out of Dominica for over two decade. Man when will some of us learn that life is short and what goes around comes around thats why some of our own people disown some of you so called Diaspora. Stop being funny and make Dominica proud as the Land of your birth. And thats not Funny.
speak like you had an education plz. can you fight the law?
Circumstances make us who we are!
Its a tough world out there so ppl gotta do what they got to do…
Well I know that Life in Dominica Can’t possibly be that hard to resort to selling cocaine to destroy people’s lives… If you’re gonna take that risk just be prepared to Face the punishments that follow.
Dee who ever you are, you make it sound like life in Dominica is harder than in Ethopia and I know that can’t be true. People in today’s world want to spend money quicker than it is coming in. We live in a material world where people want every new fad. It is called consumerism. This is what has become our problem. We are no longer satisfied with the simple things but instead we want to live larger than our salaries allow us to and subsequently resort to these illicit activities. It does not have to be like this.
Cocaine boy that’s very dangerous,u doe see how that hve grandbay people looking like harden criminals,police must go dere and search people random to stop d flow of cocaine,the women especially,cause as u don’t search dem the men give them to carry
Shatta, On Grand-Bay they put you man? You seem to know a lot about the operation which leads me to believe that you are one of the users and distributors
Shatta u must be one of those guys who come up in the middle of the night to make ur buy huh.Point is if u and ur friends stop buying grandbay people wouldn’t have anyone to sell too.
DON T WORRY U ALL TAKING OT EACH OTHER ONE BY ONE.CLASH OF THE TITANS IS COMING SOON.