A man convicted of possessing more than $1 million of heroin and ammunition is scheduled to have his case heard by the Court of Appeal next month.

According to a draft cause list for the Court of Appeal’s March session — which can be amended at any time — the court is expected to hear the case of Winston Paynter, among other matters.

In 2023, Paynter was sentenced to 19½ years imprisonment for drug possession with intent to supply and 14 years’ imprisonment for possession of ammunition without a licence.

While the sentences were ordered to run consecutively, Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe reduced the overall amount to 25 years.

The Supreme Court heard that police stopped Paynter, a temperature control technician, on April 11, 2019, as he drove his work van along Middle Road in Warwick.

They searched the back of his van and found two heat-sealed packages with a brown substance discovered to be 371.3 grams of heroin, while a later search of his Devonshire home also turned up six 9mm rounds of ammunition.

Paynter told the court during his trial that he was completely unaware of the drugs and ammunition and said they likely came from his cousin, who lived in his apartment while Paynter stayed with his girlfriend, and who used his work van on occasion.

Despite his claim, supported by his girlfriend, he was convicted on all counts.

The court is also scheduled to hear appeals from two convicted sexual offenders.

John Dexter Seaman was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after he was found guilty of eight offences including unlawful carnal knowledge and sexual exploitation which occurred between 1992 and 1997.

During the course of the Supreme Court trial, the court heard evidence from two sisters who said Seaman had preyed on them for a period of years during their childhood.

Neither defendant made a police complaint about the incidents until 2018.

While he claimed innocence on all charges, he was found guilty by a majority verdict.

Meanwhile, Cahlii Smith was jailed for 11 years in 2024 after he was found guilty of blackmailing two teenage girls into producing and sending him child pornography.

During his trial, the court heard that the victims were contacted by an unknown person on social media who claimed to be a hacker who had accessed intimate images of them and threatened to distribute them if they did not give in to his demands.

Smith denied the allegations during a Supreme Court trial, claiming that he did not have access to the laptop involved in the case, but was found guilty by a unanimous verdict.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers