Sentencing set for Oct. 10
A jury on Thursday found 24-year-old Kenecia Millwood guilty of importing cocaine in the wooden frames of three hammocks.
The jury of five women and two men heard evidence since Monday that Millwood had returned with the hammocks from San Andres, Colombia, on Easter Monday, April 21. She gave evidence in her trial and said she bought the hammocks in a store as presents for her mother, sister and herself.
She said she did not know or suspect that cocaine was in the hammocks. The total weight of the illegal substance was 6.28 pounds or 2.86 kilos, the court heard.
On her return to Cayman, a customs officer questioned her about the hammocks after an X-ray scan showed a pattern different from what would be expected of wood. There was also a strong scent of paint.
As a result of the X-rays, Millwood gave officers permission to drill into the wood. When the drill was extracted, white powder came out of all three hammocks. It was tested and shown to be cocaine. She agreed with Crown counsel Laura Manson that it was strange that the hammocks she had bought had cocaine in them.
Millwood explained that when she bought the hammocks, the wood was raw and she asked if they could be varnished. The man in the store, which sold only hammocks, said yes. She bought them on a Saturday and her cousin and friend picked them up for her the following Monday.
She denied that the hammocks were for a man referred to as Wayne or Beenie. He was the person who was going to pick her up from the airport in Cayman. He had sent her money for shopping, but not for hammocks, she said. They had been in contact and he was the one who suggested she buy hammocks when she asked what would be good presents.
She said she had known Beenie/Wayne for about nine years.
They had been boyfriend/girlfriend for a year or so and later became “friends with benefits.” She did not know his last name.
Justice Ingrid Mangatal instructed the jurors that, even if they disbelieved the defendant, that was not the end of the matter. The Crown had to prove its case and they had to be satisfied of Millwood’s guilt.
Defense attorney Lucy Organ asked that a social inquiry report be requested before sentencing. The judge agreed and set sentencing for Oct. 10.
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