7 News Belize

Eric Got Off Easy For A Pound Of Weed
posted (April 13, 2016)

Another inmate, 26 year old Eric Castillo, is lucky to not have his stay in prison extended by an additional 3 years. That’s because the Chief Magistrate decided to give him a non-custodial sentence for drug trafficking after he begged the court for leniency.

On April 26, 2015, Prison officer Walter Gabb saw Castillo picking up garbage in an area that was restricted to inmates. It turns out that Castillo tried to smuggle weed into the prison in garbage bags.

When the officer searched the garbage bag, he found two parcels of cannabis – containing 13 ounces, almost a pound of weed.

In his defence, Castillo testified that he was told by another prison officer to take out the garbage and did not know that it contained cannabis. 

He also testified that he was beaten by the police who broke his jaw, and added that he was forced to escape from the station because the police refused to take him to the hospital.

Castillo, who is serving time for burglary, asked for leniency. He said that he will be out of prison in 30 days.

Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith, gave him untilDecember 31 to pay a fine and told him that if he defaults on payment he will serve 5 years.

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