Man caught with magic mushrooms makes "costly mistake"

Tuesday 04 August 2020

A young man has been fined £1,100 in Guernsey's Magistrate's Court after being caught with cannabis and 'magic mushrooms'.

The defendant, 18, who was 17 at the time of the crime, drew police attention whilst walking with a group of people at around 17:50 on 28 February.

When the group noticed the officers on duty, they immediately changed direction and two of them, one of whom was the defendant, were seen running in the opposite direction.

Officers eventually caught up with them and they were searched. Although nothing was found on them, police came across a small loose package of cannabis resin and a rucksack nearby.

Pictured: Cannabis resin was found in the bag (file image).

Inside the bag, which belonged to the defendant, they found 9.31g of Class A psilocin - present in most psychedelic mushrooms - and 12.05g of Class B cannabis resin.

During an interview, the defendant admitted the bag was his and that the drugs were for personal use to treat his mental health issues. He claimed the loose package of cannabis found in the garden didn't belong to him and this was accepted.

In his mitigation, Defence Advocate Mark Dunster said the defendant was just a "young man making a mistake at 17" and that this is likely to be the "first and only time he will appear" in Court.

Judge Gary Perry gave the defendant credit for his early guilty plea and the fact that he had no previous convictions. He also took note of the two references handed to the court, which "spoke very highly" of him.

"People do make mistakes, particularly when they're young," Judge Perry said, "but this was a pretty serious mistake."

Pictured: The defendant will have to pay a £1,100 fine for his actions.

He also explained that it would be a "very costly" mistake - not only financially but in how it could impact the young man's life going forward.

The defendant was fined a total of £1,100 and given a 12-month conditional discharge - meaning the offences could be revisited if any further crimes are committed within the next year.

"If you stay out of trouble, you'll hear no more about the offences," Judge Perry added.

Pictured top: The defendant was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court.