A former national footballer turned coach was on Wednesday sentenced to seven months in prison for cocaine possession.
Damal Francis aka Ratty, 36, of Paul’s Avenue, told the Barrouallie Magistrate’s Court that he had the cocaine because of “peer pressure”.
“I had to do something for somebody,” he told Magistrate John Ballah ahead of the sentencing.
Francis was also sentenced to seven months in prison for possession of cannabis. However, this was suspended for one year.
Francis pleaded guilty to charges that on Aug. 27, at Paul’s Avenue, he had in his possession 280 grams of cocaine and 1,273 grams of cannabis with intent to supply to another.
Prosecutor Shamrack Pierre told the court that police found the drugs as they executed a search warrant at Francis’ home around 5:45 a.m.
The squad was led by Inspector Nolan Dallaway and included Sergeant 403 John, and Police Constables 1033 Hadaway and 417 Samuel.
When the police arrived, they met Francis in the company of his girlfriend, Kebe Lampkin.
Francis consented to the search.
Hadaway searched Francis’ person and found in his crotch one cough drop bag, containing two transparent bags filled with several foil wrappings containing a white substance resembling cocaine in solid form.
Francis said nothing when cautioned.
In the living room, Hadaway found one black plastic bag containing six transparent plastic bags, containing white solid substances resembling cocaine and one medicine bottle containing crushed fragments resembling cocaine.
Hadaway reminded Francis that he was still under caution and showed him the substances.
Francis replied, “Officer is mine”.
Meanwhile, Samuel searched the bedroom and found a blue and white handbag.
Samuel found the bag to contain loose plants-like material resembling that of cannabis.
Samuel cautioned Francis, who replied, “Officer is to smoke.”
As Pierre was presenting the facts to the court, lawyer Grant Connell arrived and informed the court that he was representing Francis.
However, the magistrate said when he had asked Francis, the defendant had said that he did not have a lawyer.
Connell said that Francis, clearly, did not know this was the case.
The lawyer asked that the matter be stood down so he could speak to Francis.
Conell and the defendant had a muted conversation in the courtroom and when the case was recalled, Connell told the court that whatever explanation Francis had would have to suffice.
The lawyer then left the courtroom and the magistrate called him back and informed him that he had another matter before the court.
Connell said he knew and was just going to his vehicle for a few minutes.
Pierre then told the court that police found over EC$2,200 during the search of Francis’ home and the Financial Intelligence Unit was on their way to make an application to the court.
‘any other diplomatic representation’?
In mitigation, Francis told the court that he is a football coach and this is his only job.
He said that he gets between EC$500 and EC$700 a month from the Football Federation for coaching.
The defendant said he is the father of a 14-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son.
He told the court that the boy lives with him.
After Francis said that he had the cocaine because of peer pressure, the magistrate asked Connell, who was sitting at the bar table, if there were “any other diplomatic representation” he wished to make on Francis’ behalf.
The lawyer response was inaudible to the public gallery in the courtroom and he sat down again almost as quickly as he had stood.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor told the court that the cocaine had a street value of EC$9,000 and the marijuana, about EC$1,200.
In his representation on sentencing, Pierre suggested a starting sentence of 35% of the maximum.
The prosecutor said there were no mitigating factors in the case except for Francis’ guilty plea.
He noted that cocaine is not produced in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and that the court could fine the defendant up to three times the value of the drugs.
Handing down his sentence, Ballah said he disagreed with Pierre that Francis had played a leading role in the crime.
“The court is not naive to what is happening in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” the magistrate said and established a starting sentence of 10%, or eight months, of the maximum seven years.
Aggravating of the offence, the magistrate said, was that Francis had tried to conceal the cocaine. For this, the court added two months to the sentence.
There were no mitigating features of the offence.
Mitigating the offender was that his previous convictions were spent. The magistrate, however, did not reduce the sentence on account of this.
Ballah granted the full one-third discount of the sentence in light of the guilty plea, which saw the sentence fall to seven months.
He also ordered that the cocaine and marijuana be destroyed.
Is he a cocaine Jumbie as they will say in local parlance? What are some of the factors that would lead one to resort to that kind of lifestyle? Are there alternatives that would serve as a catalyst to reroute young men to an alternative lifestyle, or are to attracted to the glamor and promise of fast money?