CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – ROCHELLE NEWTON of Jessups Village yesterday (Mar. 3) walked out of the Charlestown Magistrate’s Court a free woman after she was found not guilty of possession of cannabis. 

The Court heard that police officers found Newtown at the home of Terrence Ritchen in Jessups Village when they were there to execute a search warrant on January 6, 2009. According to the police, they found the door slightly opened on arrival at the house. The officers also announced their presence before entering the premises.

The officer giving evidence told the court that when they entered the house Newton was the only person there and she was asleep. He said that another officer touched her and told her that they had a warrant to search the home. This [warrant], he added, was shown to her. 

The officers then proceeded with the search and found a dime bag containing cannabis on the bed head. They also found 10 more dime bags in a pair of jeans. Seven were empty, two contained cannabis seeds and the other one had ‘fronto’, also known as brown or blend.

Defense attorney Oral Martin told the court that since Newton did not live in the house and the drug was not in her possession, but was found on the bed head, she could not be responsible for it. Martin said she told the police who it belonged to but to date that person has not been charged. 

When asked if she knew anything about the cannabis being there, Newton told the court that she was not there to look for anything; she only went there to spend the night.

Meanwhile, Algernon Caesar of Rawlins Pasture was fined $10 000 after he pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis. He has six months to the fine or spend 12 months in jail.

In the same court, Jermaine Stapleton of Prospect was fined $200 for failing to pay a ticket he was issued for parking on a yellow line in Charlestown. Stapleton has one month to pay the fee or he will spend seven days in prison.