A 41-year-old man left a free man after charges against him were dropped yesterday.

Willis Eugene Outerbridge appeared in court for being drunk in public. He pleaded guilty but his case was dismissed so he would not cost the public any more money or waste the court's time.

Outerbridge spent the weekend in jail stemming from a 2002 charge of drinking in Hamilton streets. The 41-year-old thanked the court for leniency as he left.