to guilty during his Magistrates' Court trial yesterday and will spend the next three and a half years behind bars.

Duane Gibbons, 32, of Keith Hall Estate Road, Warwick, had denied four charges of supplying crack cocaine and one count of supplying cannabis between April 18 and May 10 in Warwick.

But just as visiting Crown Counsel Charles Gratwicke began presenting the evidence for the second charge, Gibbons asked Magistrate Edward King if he could change his pleas.

Gibbons then pleaded guilty to supplying crack cocaine on April 18, May 1 and May 10 and cannabis on May 1.

He did however maintain his not guilty plea for supplying crack cocaine on May 10.

Earlier the court had heard testimony from four witnesses and viewed two videos in connection with Gibbons' first charge of supplying crack on Ord Road.

P.c. Nicholas Pedro told the court that on April 18 he was employed as a cameraman at an observation point overlooking Ord Road.

He said he saw a group of men gather around special agent Richard Grossfelt and one man count a sum of money.

At the end of P.c. Pedro's testimony, Mr. King asked Gibbons, who was unrepresented, whether he wanted to cross-examine the witness.

Mr. King, however, would not allow Gibbons to ask P.c. Pedro what he did before he became a Police officer.

But Gibbons yelled to P.c. Pedro:"You used to sell weed -- I have proof of that.'' The next witness, P.c. David Gillies, said he was at the Police observation point with P.c. Pedro on April 18.

And he told the court that he also saw a group of men gather around Mr.

Grossfelt.

When Mr. Grossfelt testified, he told the court he worked for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Newark, New Jersey and had visited Bermuda to work with the Police Service's narcotics department.

He said on April 18 he was given a briefing by Detective Superintendent Paul Hoare and $200 to perform a test purchase from drug dealers on Ord Road.

Mr. Grossfelt, who had a video camera hidden in his helmet, said he rode his scooter along Ord Road until he came to a group of men congregating on the side of the road.

When he stopped, he was approached by some of the men who engaged him in conversation.

He said the first man, dressed in a baseball hat and long sleeved coloured shirt, asked him "what he wanted''.

When Mr. Grossfelt replied "rock,'' a second man, who was wearing a long sleeve light blue top with dark pants, opened a piece of paper containing several brown twists in it.

He gave Mr. Grossfelt one of the twists, which he put in his pocket before handing over $50.

Before Mr. Grossfelt left, however, a third man came over to him and asked him if he wanted anything else, but he refused another twist and left the area on his scooter.

Mr. Grossfelt then travelled to the prearranged location at approximately 1.55 p.m. and met Det. Con. Callum Welch.

During cross-examination, Gibbons asked Mr. Grossfelt whether he had tasted what he claimed he bought, but Mr. Grossfelt denied the allegation.

When Det. Con. Welch testified, he said he had picked up the twist and video from Mr. Grossfelt and secured them as official evidence for the case.

He also said that he had made a still photograph from the video, which both he and Mr. Grossfelt initialled.

Det. Con. Welch also said he had later served Gibbons the analyst's certificates, but during cross-examination, Gibbons denied that Det. Con.

Welch had ever given him any papers.

Man jailed Mr. Gratwicke read the analyst's report which stated that the contents of the twist were found to be two grams of 87 percent pure free base cocaine, known as crack.

The prosecution then showed the court the two videos which were taken from the Police observation point and Mr. Grossfelt's helmet.

The video showed the second man, who handed Mr. Grossfelt the paper twist, in the transaction to be Gibbons.

After changing four of his pleas to guilty, Gibbons said: "I apologise to the court and the people of Bermuda.'' He also told the court how cocaine had destroyed his life.

He told Mr. King that at one time he had the potential to be a good golfer like other members of his family, but explained that cocaine had messed up his chances.

He also said he wanted help for his addiction and that his mother had looked into a rehabilitation programme at Montrose for him.

Mr. King sentenced Gibbons to three and half years in prison for each of the three charges of supplying crack cocaine and two years for the charge of supplying cannabis. All sentences run concurrently.

The fifth charge was dropped by the prosecution as well as another charge of possession of drug equipment.