A 30-year-old Devonshire man has been handed a 12-month conditional discharge for cannabis possession.

At a previous Magistrates’ Court appearance in September, Patrick Hayward had pleaded guilty to having 7.03 grams of the drug in Devonshire on April 11.

The court heard that the 30-year-old was stopped and searched by police on North Shore Road, near Loyal Hill Road.

Two plastic twists containing plant material were seized from his front left jacket pocket.

In court today, defence lawyer Vaughan Caines said his client was “extremely remorseful for his actions that day”.

He requested an absolute discharge but was told by magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that this would not be appropriate because “it is still illegal to possess cannabis”.

Mr Tokunbo instead handed Hayward a 12-month conditional discharge on the condition that he abide by all the recommendations in the pre-sentencing reports.

These include abstaining from the use of illegal drugs, submitting to random drug testing and being assessed for participation in a cannabis group.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.