Bethel man on drug charge

A Tobago man who chalked up his 20th conviction in 15 years when he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and marijuana was jailed on Monday for six years with hard labour by Scarborough Senior Magistrate Annette McKenzie.

Alston Carrington, who now has six convictions for illegal drug possession, denied he was a drug pusher.

“I am not a seller, I am not a pusher, I use it for my own purpose; sometimes you just happen to get caught,” he told the magistrate, adding he was well known to the police and was not a threat to them.

“You may not be a threat to the police but you are certainly a threat to society,” responded the magistrate.

“I don’t believe you. If you have it for your personal use, then you are an enemy to yourself,” she declared, as she slapped him with the jail term.

Carrington, of Bethel, was jailed for four years for possession of eight grammes of cocaine, as well as two years for possession of 14 grammes of marijuana.

Charges in the matter were laid by PC Ramlogan of Old Grange Police.

The court heard that Ramlogan, accompanied by other officers, was on patrol at Hopeton, Bethel, on June 14, when he spotted Carrington sneaking behind a house.

On seeing the approaching police vehicle, Carrington pushed his hand in his pocket and fled.

He was held by Ramlogan after a short chase, and two transparent plastic bags with the illegal drugs were found in his pocket.

The court heard that when cautioned, Carrington told Ramlogan: “That is how I does make me living.”

According to court records, prior to the June 14 incident, Carrington had 19 previous convictions, five of which were for possession of illegal drugs.

He had been jailed for three years in March 1995 for possession of cocaine.

In June 1998, Carrington was ordered to pay a $500 fine also for cocaine possession, and a further $500 for possession of a device adapted for the use of illegal drugs.

In November of that same year he was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine or serve three years in jail for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Carrington was jailed for nine months with hard labour in February last year, again for cocaine possession, and last August he was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine or serve 90 days in jail for possession of marijuana.

“Because of your history, I cannot fine you,” the magistrate told Carrington, as she rejected his pleas for such a sentence.