Court: Man Jailed For Possession Of Cocaine
[Written by Don Burgess]
A man convicted of cocaine possession with intent to sell had his plea for community service rather than jail time denied by a judge.
Sabian Hayward — who had previously been convicted of possession, with intent to sell, of cocaine and cannabis resin — was sentenced to two years in prison.
It was stated in Court that the cocaine had a street value of $16,875, and the cannabis resin had a street value of $6,203.
Mr Hayward was caught with the drugs in August 2014, and his lawyer had argued for a 12- to 18-month suspended sentence, and for her client to get community sentence instead.
She said that her client had no previous convictions and before this one-off incidence, was a model citizen who was needed at home to help take care of a paraplegic family member. Also, she argued that Mr Hayward’s father, who lives in Jamaica, was in failing health.
She said, “Justice is often better served with a bit of mercy.”
Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves gave Mr Hayward two years for the cocaine charge and 18 months for the cannabis resin charge. Both sentences are to run concurrently.
However, he denied the Crown Counsel’s argument for the $742.15 found on Mr Hayward to be forfeited under the proceeds of crime act and the money was to be returned to his family.
“It is well-established in this jurisdiction that being convicted for possession of cocaine can expect a custodial sentence,” Justice Greaves said.
He added it would be a “grave injustice” if Mr Hayward’s sentence were suspended because he had been found with “hard drugs”.
Justice Greaves said Mr Hayward had been found with “a substantial quantity of drugs.”
He said that if a suspended sentence was given it would “open the floodgates” to other drug dealers begging to be given the same because of family hardships.
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