A Pembroke man has been jailed for 30 days for possessing cannabis and for unpaid fines.

Appearing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Mervin Symonds, 52, pleaded guilty to having the controlled drug in his possession in Pembroke on February 21.

Prosecutor Nicole Smith told the court that Symonds was arrested after police officers saw him drinking a beer while sitting on a wall on Spanish Point Road.

She added that when the officers approached him, Symonds told them that he had a “spliff” on him.

When the officers searched Symonds, they found a brown paper twist containing plant material, which was later determined to be cannabis.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo fined Symonds $300 for possessing the drug and noted that he had unpaid fines of about $250.

Symonds, however, explained that he did not have the money to pay the fines because he is unemployed.

When Mr Tokunbo told him he could do time in default, Symonds replied: “Might as well wrap it all up at once.”

Mr Tokunbo sentenced him to 30 days’ imprisonment, with the time in default of payment for all the fines to run concurrently.

• 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.