A 24-year-old Southampton man caught with cannabis told Magistrates’ Court he had been simply enjoying Father’s Day with his friends.Makonnen Asir Tove De Chan Lowe was searched on June 19, after police on mobile patrol spotted a group of young men sitting on a wall in Jones’ Village in Warwick.Crown counsel Susan Mulligan told the court that police noticed Lowe attempting to conceal something in the hedge. A packet of cigarette papers could also be seen on the wall.An officer retrieved a plastic bag containing plant matter from behind the wall. A search of Lowe’s person uncovered another bag with five wrapped containers of plant material inside.Arrested on suspicion of intent to supply, Lowe told them: “I ain’t no dealer. I like to smoke, but I respect the police.”The plant material was found to be 5.5 grams of cannabis in total.Lowe told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner that he pleaded guilty only to what had been found on his person.“What I did have on me was for personal use,” he said. “I had attended a Father’s Day function with some of my friends, and we were just chilling.”Mr Warner fined Lowe $1,000 or three months’ prison default, with 30 days to pay.