Today a law student got called before the court for a major contraband bust. Ronell Gonzalez was driving a Toyota Camry with taxi plates between miles 12 and 13 on the Northern Highway when he was intercepted at a customs checkpoint. Inside the trunk of the Camry, Customs found 59 bottles of assorted top shelf liquor, including Absolut Vodka, Captain Morgan, Myers Rum, Jack Daniels and others. Gonzalez was arrested along with his passenger Jermaine Macdougal. The 59 bottles have a combined value of 6,027 dollars - and usually offenders usually face a fine of three times the value. But, the law changed in April 2016, and the new law says that the minimum fine is now a flat twenty thousand dollars.
Today in court, Gonzalez - who is studying law - got a lecture from Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer about being a law student and misrepresenting himself as unemployed before the court. He and Macdougal pleaded not guilty and were offered bail of fifteen thousand dollars. But, Gonzalez owed the court a fine for a traffic offence, and because the cashier was closed, he was unable to meet bail and is remanded at the Queen Street police station tonight.
Gonzalez was similarly charged for a stash of contraband in 2011. He had also gotten off a murder charge in 2008, for the killing of David Pook.
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