Mother Fined After Guilty Plea to Crack Pipe Possession

A 30-year-old mother of three was fined in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to possession of utensils used for smoking crack cocaine.  Leiyana Whylie, a housekeeper of Tanoomah Street, appeared unrepresented before the Chief Magistrate yesterday where she admitted to the single charge. Whylie told the court she was “at the wrong place at the wrong time,” explaining that she had gone to visit a friend when police arrived and found a crack pipe on a mattress. She accepted responsibility for the pipe and asked the court for leniency.  In mitigation, Whylie said she recently lost two uncles and is currently in a custody battle with the Human Services Department, which has taken her three children, ages 8, 6, and 2, into care. She added that she recently secured employment and is trying to regain custody of her children.  The court fined Whylie $300 plus $5 court costs, to be paid by March 31, or face three months’ imprisonment in default.  According to police, the incident occurred at about 10:50 a.m. when officers were conducting checks at an abandoned house through an alley off King Street. Police say two women were found at the location, and one allegedly discarded a pipe onto a mattress and exhaled smoke. The pipe, measuring approximately 4¼ inches, contained what appeared to be a white substance suspected to be crack cocaine.  Whylie had a previous drug-related matter that was reportedly struck out after she failed to appear in court.