By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 59-year-old Belize City farmer has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to possession of a crack pipe and admitting in court that he has a drug addiction.
Norman Anthony Bernard, a resident of Baghdad Street, appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to possession of utensils used for smoking a controlled drug after police reportedly found him with a metal crack pipe on Friday, August 14.
During mitigation, the Magistrate questioned Bernard about his history of drug-related convictions and asked whether he needed help with a drug problem.
Bernard admitted that he struggles with drug addiction, telling the court that he uses drugs because he suffers from persistent pain.
“I sick, so when I smoke drugs, it ease the pain. I smoke because I have pain all deh time,” Bernard told the court.
The Magistrate sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment and asked whether he was willing to participate in a drug rehabilitation program while incarcerated. Bernard agreed to enter the program.
The court also noted that Bernard had an outstanding $305 fine from a previous conviction, toward which he had made no payments. A warrant was sent to the Belize Central Prison requiring him to serve three months in default of that unpaid fine.
That three-month term will run concurrently with the new two-month sentence, meaning Bernard is expected to serve a total of three months in prison.
The post Baghdad Street farmer gets 3 months in jail for crack pipe and unpaid fines; Tells court he does drugs because he is in consistent pain but agrees to rehab appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 59-year-old Belize City farmer has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to possession of a crack pipe and admitting in court that he has a drug addiction. Norman Anthony Bernard, a resident of Baghdad Street, appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to
The post Baghdad Street farmer gets 3 months in jail for crack pipe and unpaid fines; Tells court he does drugs because he is in consistent pain but agrees to rehab appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.