A Hamilton Parish teenager has denied possessing more than 27 grams of cannabis with intent to supply.

Appearing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Brandon Lopes denied the offence, which allegedly took place in Pembroke at around midnight on April 30.

The 19-year-old, however, pleaded guilty to driving in a dangerous manner, failing to stop for police and obstructing a police officer on the same date.

The court heard that Lopes was spotted on his blue Yamaha motorbike as he failed to stop at the junction of Church Street and King Street.

The police officers pursued the defendant towards Front Street and observed him running two stop signs.

On Front Street, Lopes crashed into a stationary car. He fell to the ground and was detained.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo disqualified him from driving all vehicles for 18 months and handed him a $1,000 fine for dangerous driving.

He also fined Lopes $300 for failing to stop when requested by police. Mr Tokunbo set the sentencing date for the obstruction charge on February 17.

Lopes will also stand trial for the drug charge on that day and he was granted $3,000 bail with a like surety.

In a separate matter, 25-year-old Jah-Fari Flood, of Warwick, admitted possessing cannabis and drug equipment.

Police officers observed what appeared to be a hand-to-hand transaction between two men near the junction of Court Street and Dundonald street at about 12.51am on April 15.

Flood began to walk away slowly as they exited their vehicle. He was stopped and searched after the officers smelled burnt cannabis.

They found a brown paper twist containing plant material in his front jeans pocket, as well as a box cutter with white “chalklike residue” on the blade in his wallet.

It was later determined that the brown paper twist contained 0.06g of cannabis and the box cutter tested positive for cocaine.

In court today, Flood said the cannabis was for personal use, adding that he was in a “stressful state” and “needed relief”.

But he insisted that he used the box cutter for work and “didn’t know anything about the chalklike residue on the blade”.

Mr Tokunbo handed Flood a $300 fine for the cannabis and a $200 fine for the box cutter.

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