He didn’t qualify as a good candidate for the Drug Treatment Court.
As a result, Chandradeo Junior Singh was ordered to perform 180 hours of community service after being caught with cannabis and drug apparatus.
Appearing before the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court today, the 17-year-old unemployed resident of Industry Road, St Philip pleaded guilty to both charges.
Initially, Magistrate Douglas Frederick had recommended that the first-time offender be considered for acceptance into the newly established court.
However, after a short meeting with a probation officer, he was not considered a good enough candidate for the programme and the community sentence was imposed instead.
Singh will also undergo random drug testing during that period.
A Guyanese who has been living here for the past eight years, Singh admitted to using drugs for “a short time,” and promised he would stop as he did not want to go to jail.
The facts, as outlined by police prosecutor Irvin Kellman, were that police were patrolling along Nursery Drive, St Michael yesterday when they came upon a stall.
Singh was observed in conversation with another man while, at the same time, using a pair of scissors to cut up vegetable matter.
Police approached the teenager and, after conducting a search, found two transparent bags of cannabis, as well as a pipe.