Teen held with drugs gets community service, $2K fine

 

A 19-year-old car wash employee was fined $2,000 and ordered into community service duties after he was found carrying cocaine and cannabis.

Demar Fredericks pleaded guilty to possession of 0.7 grams of cannabis and 4.4 grams of cocaine.  He also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply to another.

Magistrate Shawn Innocent ordered the young offender to pay the fine in six months or serve three months at Her Majesty’s Prison in Balsam Ghut.

The young offender was ordered to complete 300 hours of community service. In default of not completing those hours, Fredericks will spend three months in prison.

In the event that he defaults on both fine and the community service, his custodial sentences will run concurrently.

“Learn from your mistakes and turn your life around,” the magistrate told Fredericks after handing down the sentences.

What happened

On October 27 last year, members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force were conducting a routine stop-and-search operation in Fat Hog’s Bay, East End.

While there, they were alerted by the scent of burning cannabis which was being emitted from the direction of a bar in the area.

Their investigations led them to Fredericks who they subsequently found the drugs.

Fredericks reportedly told police that he ‘found’ the drugs in an undisclosed location.

However, in court, Fredericks said: “I was planning to make a dollar on it.”