Man’s jeans were cut to hide crack cocaine

Kurt Stevenson Carter, 24, was sentenced last week to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply. The sentence related to two pieces of crack cocaine that police found in the lining behind the zipper of his jeans pants in June 2011. 

For other offenses, such as destruction of an electronic monitoring device and possessing ganja in prison with intent to supply, he received additional terms, bringing his total to nine-and-a-half years. 

Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn passed sentence after noting that Carter was being dealt with for “a large number of offenses” committed over two-and-a-half years, dating from October 2010. 

The longest sentence was for possession of 4.32 grams of crack cocaine with intent to supply. Carter admitted having the cocaine but said it was for his own use and pleaded not guilty to any intent to supply.  

During his trial, the magistrate heard evidence that police had received information and, as a result, went to Gun Square in Bodden Town, where they found Carter standing under a tree and smoking a cigarette. They requested a search and found CI$541.75 and US$259 in his pockets. Asked where he got the money, he said he had done some roofing work a couple of weeks previously. 

 Officers then requested him to accompany them to the police station for a more thorough search. At the station he was asked to remove his jeans. An officer felt something in the lining behind the zipper. Further examination showed a slit and from that area two pieces of plastic were removed. Both contained a brownish substance that subsequently tested as cocaine base. 

At Carter’s residence, 10 more pairs of pants were found that had similar cuts behind the lining of the zipper. Also in the room, officers found a digital scale with traces of cocaine on the weighing pan. Another scale outside the room also had traces of cocaine. 

Carter gave evidence and told the court he used all types of drugs, living “hand to drugs.” He said he used cocaine regularly and was addicted and needed help. He also told the court he used the scales to weigh his purchases to see which dealer was giving him the best deal. 

In finding him guilty, the magistrate accepted there was no direct evidence, such as surveillance, of Carter supplying cocaine. However, his intention to supply could be inferred from the circumstances of his arrest.  

The denominations of money fund on him were inconsistent with his explanation of pay for roofing work; further, she found it difficult to accept that a man truly addicted could restrain himself from spending the money. 

She said the cut jeans were a significant factor. A drug user would not need to conceal his drug by such an extreme measure, she reasoned. The holes in so many pairs of jeans provided another strong inference that he was using this method of concealment in order to deal. 

All the evidence together provided an overwhelming inference that Carter had the cocaine for the purpose of supplying it. 

Local guidelines set a tariff of eight years for less than four grams of cocaine base without mitigating circumstances [such as a guilty plea]. The tariff for more than four grams is 10 to 12 years. In Carter’s case, he had committed this offense while on bail for other offenses and he had previous convictions for low-level drug offenses. 

She cited factors raised by attorney Margeta Facey-Clarke in mitigation, accepting that Carter had a difficult childhood. He started smoking ganja at age nine and was using alcohol and cocaine at 14. He had found himself attracted to the criminal lifestyle he observed others living and he reported learning to break into houses and rob shops while he was in the care of Children and Family Services. 

The magistrate noted that Carter had been in custody 18 months awaiting sentence and had not done anything to get help from any counselor or prison program. Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, he had resisted taking any medication for it. The overall impression was that the underlying disorder explained the drug use, but it did not explain his general criminal behavior. 

For some offenses, such as possession of the scales as drug utensils, Carter received a concurrent sentence. 

For handling a stolen bracelet, he received six months, four of which were consecutive because it was his third such offense. For threatening to chop an officer while brandishing a machete, he received three months, of which one was made consecutive. 

For destroying the electronic monitoring device he had been wearing while on bail, he received four months consecutive. The magistrate said she had to send the message that any tampering with a monitor will result in imprisonment. 

The possession of ganja with intent to supply in prison drew a sentence of eight months. But, considering the principle of totality, only three months were consecutive. On the day trial as scheduled, Carter admitted trying to pass the vegetable matter to another prisoner by lowering a package on a string from an upper level. The parcel got stuck in a window grille and Carter was seen trying to dislodge it with a mop handle.  

The magistrate said drug offenses in prison should attract consecutive custodial sentences. 

Finally, for traffic offenses that included driving without insurance and damage to property, Carter was fined a total of $1,150 and was given six months after release to pay. The magistrate did not make any compensation order; she said the complainant could take other steps [such as a civil suit] to recover his loss.