Latvian Denies Gun & Drug Charges
In this morning’s [Jan.3] Supreme Court Monthly Arraignments 28-year-old Latvian national and ocean sailor Janis Zegelis was charged with number of firearm and drug offences, and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He had been charged with importing and also possessing a 9mm Beretta automatic pistol; importing and possessing 192 rounds of 9mm ammunition; and importing and possessing cocaine.
All six offences relate to his being searched by Bermuda Customs and Bermuda Police on arrival in Bermuda on and after 21st July 2011.
Me Zegelis is represented by lawyer Marc Pettingill, and was remanded into custody until his trial date of 7th May 2012.
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He was not importing, the gun was to ward off pirates & the yay was to keep him awake while sailing at night.
lmawo at that comment!
this is a waste of taxpayer money. send him home and be done with it!
he sould be let out and the magistrate imprisioned for stupidness.
technically he didnt import anything..if i can remember correctly it was A Bermudian government vessel who towed him into harbour(thus they are the importers)..this man had no intention of entering our shores but a storm forced him.. just send him packing, destroy the drugs(and ammo) or offer them in pharmacies to give to addicts to prevent spread of disease and a safer alternative to dealing with thug drug dealers.
He diverted here after having “mechanical problems” is what Bernews reported back in August so yes he did import it and therefore should rightfully be charged for it. If he was a Bermudian(black) the comments would be begging to throw him in jail.
If it were a Bermudian in general the comments would say chuck his a$$ in jail…stop bein an attention seekin racist amen
The drugs were not intended for here. Remember he was already docked (a day or two)awaiting repairs. His vessel was not checked by customs immediately. Bermuda police were alerted because that vessel was being tracked and had not reached its intended destination. I feel that he should be let go and handed over to those that were originally tracking him.
Bermuda does not have the money to waste on a trial….
@Dunno If I were seeking attention then why give it to me fool? lol I do not need or seek attention from anonymous comments on bernews. Also thank you for proving my point. I see that as a problem with people who leave comments here and how does that make ME a racist for pointing it out you dummy? I’m far from a racist, let’s not throw around that word when you don’t even know me. Now please go take a long walk off a short bridge.
Weather OR not (excuse the pun) the guns, drugs and ammo where meant for Bermuda isn’t the issue for me. It about time that ALL persons involved in this trade be put away just because. We as a society need to stop looking for reasons and excuses and look at the facts.
Marc Pettingill doesn’t come cheap either.
then we must lock up all politicians and bankers who providing funding and protection for those involved the ‘trade’..better yet why not decriminalise drugs just as the leaders of South America, Nobel Prize Winners and ex-UN General Secretaries have been calling for…its time for alternative solutions than ‘lock em up’ because that means we as tax paying citizens lose out more than the dealer does. We have to fork the prison bill, the trial, the judges pay, the police pay and all for what..to stop under 10% of drugs moving around?
Totally agree will but lets elaborate more on who else can be fueling the drug trade since there are naive amongst the enlightened. Man in the Mirror needs to look in the mirror & ask the question, “When sales person excepts straight cash no card for the sale of a fifty thousand dollar car, a five thousand dollar LV/Prada bag or a ten eight thousand dollar gold chain laden with diamonds do they REALLY not know where the cash came from?” The illegal drug trade is a major cash cow for Bermuda & the world on many levels. Judges, lawyers & police profit from it the most since they get paid to arrest, convict, defend & sentence drug dealers daily. The main problem is that society lives under the illusion that illegal drugs are a controlled substance but in fact they are controlled as much as air in a tightly closed room that still manages to seep in. Unless we go live in the vacuum of space we will never get rid of drugs. In essence the only thing controlled about illegal drugs is the money made from them. Solution is simple as long as ALL! are willing to give up making money from the illegal drug trade then decriminalized all drugs & set laws in motion that regulate where a drug user can get & used their drug of choice legally without imposing on those who don’t want the drug around them. This already happens with alcohol in bars, caffein in cafes & nicotine in smokers lounges why not with all drugs. Humans should have the right to put what they want in their own bodies & just the same way people are allowed to drink & smoke themselves to death without being arrested they should be allowed to inject or snort themselves to death as long as they do not harm others in the process.
BINGO!
SIDEBAR: The State cannot treat a medical problem by legal means. Drug addiction is a disease and therefore cannot benefit from the justice system getting involved. Drug addicts should be sent to hospital, not prison. Lindsay Lohan is a perfect example of how the justice industry can work against recovery. Addicts are gonna have “slips” when they first clean up; that is the nature of the disease… and there is no provision for this within the justice and parole systems.
Dont forget, there will ALWAYS be supply so long as there is demand. So, to reduce supply society must reduce demand… by helping addicts to clean up by medical & spiritual means. And youngsters must be taught the truth about addiction, not the political B.S. that keeps harmless cannabis illegal, and alcohol legal.