A Swiss tourist was sentence to pay the court $500 forthwith or in default spend three months behind bars.
Alexandra Jokoo, 28, appeared before Magistrate Evalina Baptist at the Roseau Magistrate Court this morning and pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana.
According to the facts of the case, on June 4 the defendant was searched by port security officers at the Roseau Ferry Terminal while passing through immigration checkpoint and a clear plastic bag containing seven grams of alleged cannabis was found in her purse.
The suspect was held by port security who called police.
“I do not know anything about that,” Jokoo told police initially. “I am sorry, I do not want to get myself into trouble,” she told authorities over the weekend as they carried out investigations at the Police Headquarters.
Lawyer Wayne Norde made a mitigation plea on the defendant’s behalf. Norde told the court that the defendant was remorseful and pointed to tears coming from her eyes while she was on the stand. The lawyer added that she had already spent three days in a prison cell, and requested that she be discharged.
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Baptist considered that the defendant pleaded guilty but ended in saying, “I am very concerned of the effect of this drug on society.”
She should visit Jamaica instead. Although it is against the law Jamaicans are smart they turn a blind eye and tourists well enjoy their very very nice Ganja.{it’s also much cheaper}They even have a guy selling it just in front of Scotia bank as people cash their little checks. Now that would bring tourists to Roseau! {Oh never mind I forgot Dominica is full of law abiding Christians}
anyhow she tried dat disrespect in turkey or Iran she wud be stoned to death. so why disrespect Dominica. well first i hope dem man fix her up good in the cell for the three days. dat is what she cry for.
Spoken like a true imbecile. NO woman EVER deserves or wants to be sexually abused. To suggest that she does and that such an act would be acceptable reflects your own lack of ethics or morals, and to publicly state such juvenile nonsense demonstrates incredible stupidity.
A few Grams. Damn the Customs. i Would have taken it aways from her and threw it in the trash. No Need to Waste everybody’s Time for 2 Grams of weed.
You guys make me laugh.jockers!law is law right? So why is the law easier for more serious crimes?
If that were a Dominican they would get a lot stiffer fine. So what she cry? these people know all too well what they are doing. If it’s wrong for nationals, it’s wrong for her, laws are laws
drug is drug. jail all these druggies. make them pay. $500 was a slap on the wrist. no pity for anyone using illegal substance.good thing she was not arrested in barbados. madamme judge please hit them harder.
selling alchohol to underage is also illegal. but i’ve seen policemen around while that happened. oh wait the policemen are pretty notorious for involving in other underage matters. lmao dominica law is bull
yea and dem police even drinkin beer while drivin police ride…ah wah dat!!
I sure is Grand bay she get it, they should Jail all Jai’ Gwabay!
I saw u gave it to her when u were in Grand Bay
you make absolutely no sense. no humour in your statement. be serious.
Be kind in your words.
It is stated, “Words are like atom bombs. Be careful how you use them.”
Some of you are always attacking one village or the other. Why do this? There are also good people in those villages. Do not make them out to be what they are not.
You are not contributing to peace.
Family guy, i think you are an ass, and you should be banned from making comments if that is your attitude. People can get weed anywhere in Dominica, it easier to get it in Roseau than anywhere in Dominica cause the Roseau men byuy all from the country people. And to add to that, I don not think anyone should be fined for less than a pound of weed, especially Dominica locals. jail all those who deal with cocaine. Marijuana is a medical herb and that is proven world wide.
How the hell can you say is jai gwabay. Idiot go learn to spell. Ya you gave it to her and now you putting it on us. Idiot we smarter than you
On G/bay all u always have strengh.
I am sure this is all in good humor, someone is always hitting on Grand Bay. Thanks for the laugh.
legalize it it grows natulally ,the cost of incarceration is more costly are we gonna overcrowed stockfarm with people with herb possession . and let the real criminals walk free?
The govt.’s makes a lot of money charging people for this stuff.
Now, there is a source of revenue for DA.
Putting these people in Stock Farm is a waste of money.
This gives me an idea. Probably a building could be constructed to specifically house the drug addicts.
Was it in fact weed or was it a green leafy substance that resemble marijuana. I’m sure the foresensic lab came back with a positive match. OH yeah… if the police say its weed then the judge have no choice to convict that is the law here in the Lawless place call DA
Don’t be an idiot, did you not read that she pleaded guilty, the police alleged that it was cannabis, she admitted that it was cannabis not the police telling the judge anything.
marijuana man…………….decriminalize the stuff already
Imagine the amount of her friends and family and their friends that would come back to us if we would just free up the Herb.
I live in the US and that can never happen. The law is the law, I can cry my guts out.
She does not want to say back in a foreign island. She needs to pay that money. We in the US has
to abide by the laws.
So any one can just start crying in the court house.
You can’t compare the U.S. to Dominica. It’s like comparing apple to oranges!!!! You see the way the U.S. is set up tourist MUST visit the U.S. as a matter of fact, most people wants to move here permanently. However Dominica, in terms of tourism is another story. I am not saying that they should get preferential treatment however from the facts of the story, she does not sound like a drug dealer and it seemed that the weed was for personal use, common, why embarass someone for a little weed. She is not selling it some the judge main concern about “the effect on society’ doesn’t count in this case.
Secondly, she was leaving the country, let her go with it. Let the other country she is entering deal with it. This case, I am certain cost Dominica more than $500.00. She is taking drugs out of the country, I think is a good thing…..
Rocks– you’re not looking at the big picture when u say let another country deal with it. If other countries find drugs on folks embarking from DA what do u think will happen to folks who travel from there? I hope ur smart enough to figure it out or maybe u like being looked at as a suspect. DA doesn’t need to be blacklisted by any country.
Rock said can’t compare the USA with Dominica.
Are you forgetting that late last year Dominica was compared with the USA in terms of rising in corrpution, and that survey even suggested that Dominica was higher in its level of corruption than the USA, at the time? Well I cannot forget nah! And I lashed out at that survey, calling it senseless and fallible, wee!
For crying out loud the USA is a country containing almost 4100 times the sized of Dominica, as far is population is concerned, not to mention the land mass.
But Dominica was compared with the USA And for what reason? Primarily the state of corruption–like drug trafficing for example, regardless if it enters or leave.
The action of that young lady would give Dominica a bad name both ways; if she was not disciplined. Entering with the drug and letting her go free because she is crying tells others they can do the same. Allowing her to leave with the drugs, will give Dominica’s authority of security a bad name just the same–like being very careless.
Tears are just a sign of shame, when we discover that we are caught in our ways that do not blend well with the demands of the majority of society. WE are caught in our bad acts because we allow pride and arrogance to tell us that we are untouchable. We must strive for precaution, or else we must be held responsible for not abiding by the law, period!
Well, whichever way we look at it she was found with illegal drugs and this is a violation of the Dominican Law. The Police could not possibly ignore her and allow her out of the country with drugs. The Police has a job to perform.
I will not dispute about the amount of money she was charged or the number of days she would spend in prison if she defaults on paying it. She has to pay up or be imprisoned. I do hope that she learned a lesson from this.
I Agree… Dominica Is a land Just like Any other Place and Yes We Can Compare… you People are Disgracing Dominica when you all say That…..We Can’t Allow People To Do What They want in Our Country and When w Go To Theirs Is a Problem….. Dominica Already have to much Freeness…. People can come There Make there babies and Ship Out To other places (Haitian, Middle East etc…) and That’s not fare!
I guess it is far easier to prosecute 7 grams of cannabis than to do a thorough investigation that results in the conviction of a person accused of murder. So let’s keep doing the easy things while murderers walk the streets. SMH
Marijuana still remains illegal and is punishable by law.
Piper i could not say it better.
well said piper!