A worker in the watersports industry lost his job, his right to be in Cayman and his clean record because of drug use.
‘Those are the consequences you brought on yourself,’ Acting Magistrate Valdis Foldats told the defendant, James Mallory Bromage.
Bromage, 21, appeared in Summary Court on 28 February and pleaded guilty to four drug charges, including consumption of ganja and cocaine.
The charges were laid after Drugs Task Force officers went to Bromage’s George Town residence on the night of 20 December 2006.
The defendant said he started a working holiday here in December 2005. His employer was going to apply for a work permit renewal on his behalf. After his arrest, however, he was suspended from work for a month and then terminated.
Bromage, who holds a UK passport, said he had never been in trouble before. He produced a letter from his home town in Brunei attesting to his clean record there.
Acting Magistrate Valdis Foldats said ordinarily a social inquiry report would be requested for a young person, to determine whether there was a drug abuse problem and what help might be needed.
In Bromage’s case, however, he had no legal right to be here once his court case was dealt with.
The defendant accepted that fact. He added that he had been struggling since losing his job and had had to borrow money from home.
‘I know I messed up, but I’ve got my act together and stopped all that stuff,’ he told the court
Crown Counsel Trevor Ward said the DTF officers attending the premises found Bromage in a room with a piece of white paper in his hand. He was told to put it on the floor, where inspection showed it to contain vegetable matter resembling ganja.
Bromage was asked if he had more and he said yes, under the pillow. Officers retrieved a larger quantity of vegetable matter in a plastic bag. They also recovered from the scene Rizla papers, scissors and a plastic bottle made into a water pipe.
The vegetable matter was later analysed and shown to be over 25 grams of ganja or .945 of an ounce.
In passing sentence, the magistrate said Bromage’s guilty pleas were the most significant mitigating factor because they showed he took responsibility for his actions. He had cooperated with officers at the scene and when interviewed.
Unfortunately, he was now going to have drug convictions on his record. That could affect his ability to enter other countries, the magistrate said.
He imposed fines $300 for possession of utensils used in the consumption of a controlled drug, $300 for possession of ganja, $200 for consuming ganja and $700 for consuming cocaine.
The defendant asked for time to pay the total $1,500 because he would need to get in touch with someone back home. He was given one week, on condition that a local surety sign for him in the meantime.
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