A 61-year-old small-scale farmer from Barrouallie has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to a marijuana possession charge in a St. Vincent court, receiving a steep fine instead of a custodial sentence. Andy Reece admitted to the charge of possession with intent to supply a controlled substance before Chief Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offences Court this Thursday. The case traces back to April 21, when police at the Barrouallie Station received an anonymous tip about Reece’s illicit activity, prompting officers to secure a formal search warrant for his residence.
When law enforcement officers arrived at the property, they were greeted by Doritha Solomon, who informed the team that Reece was not present at the time. After officers disclosed that they were conducting a search for illegal firearms, ammunition, and controlled drugs, Solomon granted the team permission to proceed with the search, noting that only she and her granddaughter were staying in the home at that point.
During a search of Reece’s personal bedroom, conducted with Solomon present as a witness, officers first discovered a plastic bag holding suspected cannabis hidden inside a storage container. A further search of the space turned up additional amounts of the drug, stashed inside a tub and bucket tucked under the bed. When confronted with the illicit find, Solomon immediately denied any ownership of the drugs, leading officers to take her into custody on suspicion of drug possession and transport both her and the seized evidence to the Barrouallie Police Station. The total weight of the confiscated marijuana was recorded at 8,034 grammes, equal to roughly 17.7 pounds.
Roughly an hour and 20 minutes after the search concluded, Reece voluntarily presented himself at the police station and claimed full responsibility for the seized cannabis. Police followed formal procedure, cautioning Reece before conducting an interview in the presence of Justice of the Peace Nash. In his official caution statement, Reece claimed the drugs were for his own personal use rather than for distribution to other buyers, saying: “The drug belongs to me. Me just get it to smoke, not to sell.”
Grant Connell, Reece’s legal representative, presented several mitigating arguments to the court ahead of sentencing. Connell highlighted that this marked Reece’s first criminal conviction, emphasized that his client voluntarily came forward to take responsibility for the drugs, and entered a guilty plea at the earliest possible opportunity. The attorney also told the court that Reece had relied on illegal marijuana cultivation to support his family financially for the past 40 years, and formally requested that the court issue a non-custodial sentence rather than prison time.
After weighing both the mitigating circumstances presented by the defense and the aggravating factors of the case, the court initially calculated a total fine of EC$3,320. When Connell informed the judge that Reece only had EC$3,000 available to pay immediately, Chief Magistrate John adjusted the fine to EC$3,000, ordering that the sum be paid right away. The sentence also includes a backup penalty of one year in prison if the fine is not paid. Beyond the fine, the magistrate ordered that the storage containers seized in the search be returned, and that the entire cache of marijuana be destroyed.