Victor Scott Burns, 31, of Tribe Road Three, pleaded guilty to being drunk and incapable in a public place on January 2.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette told the court that Police were on patrol around 11.20 p.m. that day when it was brought to their attention that a man was lying in the middle of Richmond Road.

The officers found Burns in an unconscious state and he smelled strong of alcohol, Sgt. Mouchette said. But his vital signs were normal.

When the officers poured water on Burns' face to wake him up, he said: "Oh baby, Oh baby.'' Sgt. Mouchette said the officers informed Burns that he would be arrested before taking him to Hamilton Police Station.

A sheepish-looking Burns told Acting Magistrate Edward Bailey: "I'm very sorry sir and very embarrassed.

"It was a one-off event. It will not occur in the future.'' Burns explained that he had been at the Robin Hood pub.

"Thank God you weren't driving,'' Mr. Bailey said. "But it appears as if you had an excessive amount.'' GUILTY OF HAVING OFFENSIVE WEAPON CTS Guilty of having offensive weapon A 22-year-old Warwick man pleaded guilty this week to possessing an offensive weapon, despite claiming that he used it for work.

Acting Magistrate Edward Bailey heard that Police approached Christopher Curtis Davis, of St. Mary's Road, in the parking area across from the Swinging Doors nightclub on Court Street at 2.55 a.m. on January 10.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette said officers saw Davis drop a knife to the ground.

Asked why he dropped the knife, Davis said he had read about Police's crack down on people with weapons.

But Davis, who had no previous convictions, told Mr. Bailey that he was a painting contractor and that the knife was work related and in a small belt clip.

Mr. Bailey asked Davis: "Do you walk around with paint brushes at night?'' "Your knife should have stayed where the paint brushes were,'' he added before ordering Davis to pay $500 fine.

SENT TO PRISON FOR YEAR FOR STEALING CTS Sent to prison for year for stealing A Pembroke man who stole $5,400 worth of property was sentenced to 12 months in prison this week.

McNeil Wilson, 29, of Mount Hill, pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to six charges of breaking and entering and theft which he committed while on parole from the Westgate Correctional Facility last October.

Wilson is currently serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence he received in May, 1996 after being found guilty of stealing and receiving more than $7,000 worth of motorbikes and cycle parts.

Hearing that Wilson was scheduled for release on February 28, 1999, Senior Magistrate Will Francis ordered the new sentence to run concurrently with the time he is already serving.

In addition, Mr. Francis told Wilson he must follow through with two years of probation as soon as he is released.

FINED $450 FOR CREDIT CARD FRAUD CTS Fined $450 for credit card fraud An unemployed Sandys Parish woman was this week fined $450 for committing a credit card fraud while on probation.

Shonika Armstrong, 20, of Douglas Drive, pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to defrauding $476 in March, 1997 -- seven months after she had been sentenced to an 18-month probation term.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis ordered her to pay the fine by the end of March.

STUDENT RECEIVES YEAR'S PROBATION CTS Student receives year's probation A CedarBridge student this week received a 12-month probation period for obstructing a Police officer.

Neville Jerome Sinclair Gumbs, 17, of Middletown Lane, Pembroke had previously pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to the obstruction offence which took place outside of the school on September 29 last year.

After reading a social inquiry report on the young man, Senior Magistrate Will Francis yesterday told Gumbs: "I am sentencing you to 12 months of probation.

"That is not to say you are released without supervision. You must comply with everything the people at Probation Services tell you to do or not to do.

"Hopefully they will help to get you back on your feet and move in the right direction.'' MAN WAS `TAPPED -- NOT DRUNK' CTS Man was `tapped -- not drunk' Operating a boat while impaired on Christmas Day landed a St. George's man in Magistrates' Court this week.

Sean Chasty, 37, of Wellington Slip Road, pleaded guilty to the offence which took place in St. George's Harbour.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette told the court that around 9.15 a.m.

Marine Police on patrol in the area saw Chasty travelling east when his boat suddenly stopped.

The officers approached Chasty's 13-foot Boston Whaler and spoke to him.

Sgt. Mouchette said when the officers asked Chasty if he had been drinking, he said he had been out drinking on another boat with some friends all night.

"I am tapped, but I am not drunk,'' he reportedly told officers.

Chasty was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station where a breath test revealed him to have at least 166 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood -- the legal limit is 80 milligrams.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis fined Chasty $500, but said he was unable to suspend or revoke his licence by law.

FINED FOR HAVING `BIRTHDAY' JOINT CTS Fined for having `birthday' joint A man was fined $500 this week after pleading guilty to being drunk and incapable in public and having marijuana in his possession.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Anthony Mouchette told Magistrates' Court that Police found 26-year-old Derek Furbert unconscious in the road on Knapton Hill in Smith's Parish at 6 a.m. on July 24 last year.

Furbert, of Camp Hill Road, Warwick, was unresponsive to Police questioning and was searched for identification when a twist of brown paper containing plant material was found.

Sgt. Mouchette said Furbert was arrested on suspicion under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Furbert told Police that it was his birthday and "it was only one joint'' which someone gave him and he did not have time to smoke it.

Acting Magistrate Edward Bailey fined Furbert $350 for possession and $150 for vagrancy.