Hattieville Man Fined $505 After Pleading Guilty to Marijuana Possession

A 21-year-old Hattieville man has been ordered to pay a $505 fine after pleading guilty to drug possession. The man, Robert Charles Joseph, was found with over 107 grams of marijuana, and arrested on Friday, August 15, after police stopped a Ford Ranger pickup truck traveling on the George Price Highway. Since the amount was over 10 grams, Joseph was charged with possession with intent to supply, an offense that is treated similarly to drug trafficking. He was facing a potential three-year prison sentence and a minimum fine of $10,000. However, Magistrate Ludlow Black took Joseph’s early guilty plea into consideration, along with the fact that he was a first-time offender. The magistrate also noted an aggravating factor: that the amount of marijuana Joseph was found was more than 10 times the legal amount. For his guilty plea, Joseph was given a non-custodial sentence with a $500 fine and an additional $5 court fee. He has until September 30 to pay the fine or face five months in prison.