Man jailed after breaking curfew to purchase marijuana
A Carrot Bay man who broke the ongoing 24-hour curfew to purchase marijuana on March 30, has been sentenced to 60 days at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) in Balsam Ghut.
Twenty-two-year-old Nikolai Brathwaite admitted to the offence of Breach of Curfew on Monday when he appeared before Magistrate Christilyn Benjamin via a Zoom conference call.
What the court heard happened
The court heard that on the day in question, police responded to a report that two men were breaking the curfew between 9 am to 10 am.
Brathwaite was identified as one of the two men on surveillance footage and was later brought in for questioning on April 15.
During an interview with police, he said he left home in search of marijuana and met with a friend on Main Street to smoke.
Following the interview, he was charged.
I’m sorry
The unrepresented man said he was full of remorse for his actions and begged the court for mercy because he had a young child and a girlfriend to support.
“I am sorry that I broke curfew for such a useless reason,” he stated. “I just spend the last seven days in a cell, [and] I just don’t want to go in another cell,” he continued.
He said being inside the Road Town Police Station taught him that he should not “hang around bad company”.
No regard for the law
When handing down his sentence, Magistrate Benjamin said she took into consideration his early guilty plea, the prosecution’s case and the reason he went outdoors.
“You decided to disrespect the curfew,” she said.
She further said the court found that a fine would not be in his best interest and a more appropriate sentence would be a custodial sentence of two months at Her Majesty’s Prison.
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imagine to amount of ppl on the road who breaking curfew but only some getting lock up. every district this is going on
Over weed and the place full of stress? Let that young man go.
Sadly, the Court system been full of crap. Welcome to the BVI
My carrot bay out of weed to till town for that . Weed man step up your product .
Two local officers on patrol would have been more understanding, sensible and discretionary than the expat officer vs the local “law breaker.” Fact.
Always gotta have one of you in these comments…don’t worry see what happens in countries when there is racism?… soon xenophobic persons will be singled out and embarrassed publicly, no more hiding it. Be bold with it okay?
yhyhyh, everytime ayo foolish men get catch all of a sudden ayo have children. You try tell me, you aint breaching the curfew to go look food for your child but weed???? come on man!
Good for1 good for all pastor next
I missed something? Some of yall ain’t read this thing. How can you break the law twice in the same sentence and still say let the young man go? He broke the law twice in the same day. Im a mother and im darn sure well I ain’t leaving my kids home to go with bo gyal to go smoke