A man caught with cannabis plants more than a decade ago was given a suspended sentence yesterday.

Roydon Brangman, 41, had pleaded guilty to a charge of cultivating cannabis in an incident on July 6, 2015 in connection with 14 plants found on a property in Sandys.

The court heard that the delay between the offence and his sentencing was because Brangman had “gone Awol”.

During an appearance in Magistrates’ Court, prosecutors called for a fine and a sentence of three months behind bars for the offence, but suggested that the sentence could be suspended.

Vaughan Caines, duty council, noted that Brangman had no previous convictions and a social inquiry report found that he was at a very low risk of committing further offences.

Brangman himself expressed remorse for his actions. He said that he understood what he did was unlawful and that he would not do it again.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson noted his expressions of remorse and that his guilty plea had saved the court from the time and expense of a trial, but added that the plea could not be described as “early”.

She said: “You didn’t make us have to go through a trial. However, you were Awol for nearly ten years.”

In all the circumstances, she sentenced Brangman to three months behind bars but suspended that sentence for a period of two years.

She fined Brangman $7,000 for the offences and gave him two weeks to pay the sum.

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