Zephaniah Richards caught with marijuana on religious excursion

Fri, Aug 6, 2010

When police found marijuana in Zephaniah Richards’ pants pocket, Richards said he was completely baffled as to how it got there.{{more}}

Richards, a resident of Vermont, pleaded guilty to possession of 10 grams of cannabis at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

Richards, who says he is a member of the Church of Christ, was among members of the Baptist Church who took part in an excursion to Union Island on August 2, 2010, on the MV Admiral.

After disembarking at the harbour in Union Island, a police officer stationed on the wharf noticed Richards acting in a suspicious manner. The officer approached him and requested a search. During the search, the marijuana was found in Richards pocket.

When cautioned, Richards told the officer, “That na mine, they put that on me.”

As a result of his guilty plea to the charge, Senior Magistrate Donald Browne fined Richards $175 to be paid in one week. In default, he will spend three months in jail.

“You don’t look like the prophet Zephaniah in the Bible…In his (Zephaniah) old days, he wouldn’t have been smoking weed. You have no respect for the people’s religion and instead of carrying a sandwich, you carry weed,” Browne said as he chided Richards.

Richards, however, remained adamant that he does not smoke marijuana.(KW)