A 54-year-old man from Cedar Grove Bath Estate was forced to pay $5,000.00 to the court before 4 pm on Friday, September 30, 2022, or in default, he would go to jail for six months.
Lincoln Lindon St. Jean pleaded guilty to four drug-related charges before Chief Magistrate Candia Carette George for that he, on September 27, 2022, at the Douglas-Charles Airport attempted to export 9,080 grams of cannabis out of Dominica.
He also pleaded guilty to attempting to export 6,080 grams of cannabis raisins, guilty to the trafficking of cannabis raisins, and guilty also to trafficking 980 grams of cannabis.
The Facts of the case
On September 27, 2022, at about 12:30 pm St. Jean checked in on a flight to Barbados and a bag. Moments later, he was approached by Customs Officer Peterson Jno Baptiste and asked to identify a checked-in bag. “Officer it’s my bag,” he told the Customs Officer. Police prosecutor Corporal Dale LeBlanc prosecuted on behalf of the State.
He was asked to open it and when he did the contents revealed cannabis and cannabis raisins in several plastics. When asked about the contents he responded, “I was just the transporter, I got a trip and took it. He was arrested and taken to police headquarters and handed over to the police.
Mitigation
Defense counsel Wayne Norde from Norde & Lambert Chambers who mitigated on his behalf told the court that his instructions are that St. Jean was “a farmer by profession and also does painting.”
“I am not looking for sympathy from the court, but he is also an amputee since 1993, he has also pleaded guilty and is very remorseful having found himself in such a situation. He has also fully cooperated with the police from inception and has been open and honest with the investigators,” Norde stated.
“He got a trip and a change to put in his pocket, so he accepted it, it was just poor judgment…he tried something, and it didn’t work we ask that you temper justice with mercy in your sentencing, his actions were clearly motivated by financial gains.”
Sentencing
After going from the sentencing guidelines as stipulated by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Chief Magistrate Carette-George told St. Jean that she wants to “commend him for staying out of trouble for the past ten years” and he will not be getting a custodial sentence.
“It’s a lot of drugs with you trying to export out of the country,” she said. She disagreed with defense counsel Norde, that St. Jean did not know what the contents of his luggage were.
“I will not believe that you must know what you were getting into so this makes no sense,” she responded.
“You are hereby fined $20,000.00 with $5,000.00 to be paid forthwith in default you will go to jail for six months. The balance of $15,000.00 must be paid on or before January 31, 2023, in default you will go to jail for six months,” she said.
Nature Isle News (NIN) can confirm that St. Jean failed to pay the forthwith fine and is now an inmate at the Stock Farm Prison.