By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 46-year-old Sandhill resident narrowly avoided jail time on Friday after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply, following a police operation on Ebony Street that involved the use of a drone.
Jason Richard Orosco, a part-time seaman of Sandhill Village, Mile 16 on the Philip Goldson Highway, appeared unrepresented before a magistrate in Court #3, where he was read a single charge of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply 241 grams (8.5 ounces) of cannabis.
Orosco immediately pleaded guilty to the charge.
During sentencing, the magistrate explained that the offense carries a fine and imprisonment, or both, and initially determined that a two-year starting point was appropriate under the new sentencing guidelines.
However, the court deducted six months for Orosco’s early guilty plea, reducing the sentence to 18 months. A further six-month deduction was applied for mitigating factors, including the fact that Orosco had no previous drug convictions, leaving a sentence of 12 months imprisonment.
Instead of immediate incarceration, the magistrate ordered that the 12-month sentence be suspended for two years. Orosco was warned that if he is convicted of another offense within that period, he will automatically serve the one-year prison term.
In addition to the suspended sentence, Orosco was fined $3,615 plus $5 in court costs. He was ordered to pay $500 immediately, which he managed to do before 3 p.m. on Friday. The remaining $3,115 must be paid by September 30, 2026, or he faces one year in prison in default of payment.
According to police, the arrest resulted from a joint operation involving Special Branch personnel using a police-operated drone.
Authorities said the drone observed a man matching Orosco’s description entering a zinc-fenced yard on Ebony Street. Acting on the information relayed by the drone operator, police approached the suspect, who was wearing the clothing described by officers.
Although a search of Orosco did not initially reveal any illegal items, the drone operator directed officers to an area behind the yard, where a green plastic bag was found tucked between the fence.
Inside the bag were green leafy substances suspected to be cannabis. Orosco was escorted to the Queen Street Police Station, where the substance was weighed in his presence and amounted to 241 grams of suspected cannabis.
Police believe the quantity was intended for street sale, with Orosco reportedly indicating that the cannabis would have been sold in small portions valued at about five dollars each.
The post ‘Caught in 4K’: Sandhill man fined $3,600 but avoids jail with suspended sentence after ‘police drone-man’ busts him with half-pound of weed appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 46-year-old Sandhill resident narrowly avoided jail time on Friday after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply, following a police operation on Ebony Street that involved the use of a drone. Jason Richard Orosco, a part-time seaman of Sandhill Village, Mile 16 on the Philip Goldson
The post ‘Caught in 4K’: Sandhill man fined $3,600 but avoids jail with suspended sentence after ‘police drone-man’ busts him with half-pound of weed appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
