Belize City resident Jose Castillo has to come up with $10,000 to pay the Magistrate's Court by March of next year because he was caught with a large quantity of weed at his house.
The bust happened today at his Buttonwood Bay house where officers search and found 361.2 grams - or 12.7 ounces - of cannabis was found in their possession. Castillo and his wife were jointly charged with drug trafficking, and when they were arraigned today before the Chief Magistrate, Castillo accepted guilt, explaining that his wife knew nothing of the drugs.
Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith sentenced him to pay a fine of $10,000, half of which he had to pay upfront. He must finish paying the entire fine by March 2015, or he will serve 2 years in prison if he defaults. Because he couldn't pay the first half of the fine, he has to serve 2 years in jail.
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