A Devonshire man was fined this morning after attempting to destroy cannabis found by police officers in his pocket.

Gilroy Perrott, 48, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court this morning to charges of possessing cannabis in an increased penalty zone, within 100m of National Stadium, and obstructing police.

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney told the court that police were on patrol in the Frog Lane area at around 7.20pm on April 12 when they noticed a car, driven by Perrott, failing to make a complete stop at a junction.

They stopped the vehicle near National Stadium and, on discovering that there was an outstanding warrant for Perrott, arrested him. The officers handcuffed and began to search the defendant, in the process finding loose, plantlike material in his pocket.

The officer began to remove the material, placing it on the hood of the car, but Perrott lunged forward sending much of the plant material to the ground.

He then began to grind the material into the pavement, shouting: “This ain’t weed. I ain’t got no weed.”

While a quantity of the material was destroyed, officers were still able to recover a portion, later confirmed to be 0.24g of cannabis.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner fined Perrott $1,000 for possessing cannabis and another $1,000 for obstructing police, giving the defendant a month to pay the fines.