PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance sentenced two men on Thursday for the possession of quantities of drugs.
Marland Sadeek Stewart (36) received one month suspended, on two years’ probation, for possession of 10 grams of cocaine, 109 grams of marijuana, a machete and a knife.
The items were found in Stewart’s car during a routine traffic control near Le Grande Marché supermarket on October 11. Police officers found the drugs after they smelled a strong marijuana scent emanating from the vehicle. The machete and the knife were found to be within the driver’s reach, and not in the vehicle’s trunk. The machete was on the car’s floor near the driver’s feet and the knife was stashed in a pocket at the back of the driver’s seat.
Stewart explained to the Judge that he had bought the marijuana for US $20 and said he had received the pellet with cocaine from a friend.
“It was there for a long time. I forgot I had it there,” he said about the cocaine, which was found in the car’s centre console. The father of two said he is a long-time drug user as he considers it good medicine for his asthma. He needed the machete and knife for his job, he explained.
The Prosecutor considered all charges proven and called for one-month suspended, on two years’ probation, and 120 hours of community service.
Attorney Zylena Bary said her client should be acquitted of the illegal weapon charge, as the machete and the knife were not found on the public road, but inside his vehicle.
Shamir Elizee Artsen (27) was sentenced according to the Prosecutor’s demand to one-month suspended, on two years’ probation and 100 hours of community service for possession of 78 grams of marijuana.
As he also had 122 small zipper bags and a pair of scissors and other items in his possession, the Prosecutor said there were “indications” the defendant was a drug dealer.
Artsen denied the allegation and said the soft drugs were for his own personal use. “I have been a smoker since high school. I use it to relax,” said the former PDG worker, who was laid off after Hurricane Irma.
The Prosecutor said the defendant had been stopped during a traffic control on St. Peters Road near the junction with Sugarapple Road. However, Artsen, who was driving a quad, sped away and could only be stopped near Lionel Alexander Richardson Road.
He was not charged with the attempt to evade his arrest. Despite the fact he was caught while on three-year probation for another crime, Artsen was still considered a first offender, as the previous crime was not drug-related.
However, the Prosecutor stated that Artsen may be confronted with a request for the execution of the suspended sentence.
Attorney Geert Hatzmann pleaded for a lesser sentence on the drug charges, as he considered it not proven that his client was a dealer. “We have to believe the suspect’s statement that the drugs were for his own personal use,” the lawyer said in his pleadings.
