Magistrate fines Barrouallie man for improper response

A Barrouallie man had sixty dollars added to his fine because of the manner in which he addressed Chief Magistrate Sonya Young.{{more}}

Young increased the fine because Junius Layne persisted in saying “No,” “Yea”, “Hmm?” and “Eh”, while responding to her, even though he had been advised by police officers in the Serious Offences Court about the proper manner in which to respond to the Magistrate: “Yes please, my Worship; No please my Worship.”

Layne, 28, appeared in Court on Monday, October 19, 2009 and answered to two charges. He was charged with the possession of 16,344 grams of cannabis with the intent to supply and also with the cultivation of ten mature cannabis plants. Layne pleaded guilty to both charges.

Rapid Response Unit and Narcotics officers found Layne with the drugs and the plants in the Boisden Mountains in Peter’s Hope. When cautioned by police, Layne said “Officer is not my weed, me just come up here to help a man.”

He explained to the Magistrate that the marijuana did not belong to him and that he was helping out a friend. He said that he only pleaded guilty because he was found with the drugs. Young however explained to him that he could plead not guilty if the drugs were not his. Layne stuck with his guilty plea.

It was during their exchange that Layne responded to the Magistrate improperly. As the officers shouted to him the preferred response, occasional laughter was heard in the courtroom. Layne admitted, “I ain’t use to these things,” as it was his first time in court.

He was fined $16,600 for the possession of the marijuana. It is to be paid in six months or he will serve eighteen months in prison. He was also fined $250 to be paid in one week or he will serve one month in prison for the cultivation of the marijuana plants. The sentences will run concurrently.

This was not the first time that Young added money to a person’s fine because she was inappropriately addressed. “If you do come back, you know exactly how to answer,” Young told Layne.(OS)