A man was ordered to spend four and a half months in jail this afternoon after being convicted of possessing $3,500 worth of cocaine.

Raymond Troy “Yankee” Rawlins was found with 11.76 grams of freebase cocaine in his pocket on March 12, 2008, after Police stopped him for a traffic violation in Southampton.

He told Magistrates' Court it was for his own personal use and denied the drugs were for sale and distribution.

Magistrate Juan Wolffe accepted this evidence and found Rawlins not guilty of possession with intent to supply, but guilty of possession.

During sentencing this afternoon, Mr. Wolffe said: “My opinion is this offence is a serious one. While it is a simple possession, considering the type of drug I place it on the high end of the scale.”

He imposed a basic sentence of three months imprisonment and increased that by 50 percent considering the street value, type of drug and the destructive effects cocaine has on the community.

* For the full story read tomorrow’s edition of The Royal Gazette.