Bristol man must do chores at home to pay drug fine
A TEENAGER has been ordered to pay off a fine for cannabis possession by doing chores for his parents.
Mitchell Shakespeare, 18, of Machin Close in Henbury, was found with a £10 bag of the class B drug on the windowsill of the garden shed where he sleeps, after police were alerted by the smell in January.
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He pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates' Court, where prosecutor May Li said he had breached a conditional discharge imposed after he was found growing cannabis.
Defending Shakespeare, Giles Nelson said the bricklaying student at City of Bristol College had no means to pay for a fine but could rely on his parents and would pay them back by doing "chores around the house".
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Magistrates agreed, imposing a £50 fine and £20 victim surcharge.
9 Comments
by highgrade84
Sunday, March 17 2013, 5:58PM
“total waste of money and resources”
by highgrade84
Sunday, March 17 2013, 5:57PM
“total waste of money and resources”
by mr_richmond
Thursday, March 07 2013, 7:55PM
“What a waste of tax payers money anyway, even arresting, prosecuting and bringing the lad to court with £10 worth of cannabis. Remember the solicitor will have been on legal aid too. I bet he claimed a few hundred pounds out the legal aid fund. Then there is the arresting copper wages along with the desk sergeants time booking him in, then all the fingerprinting, DNA sample, photograph etc. Then all the paperwork and CPS wages along with the wasted court time. Probably little change out of £1000 tax payers money wasted. All because he had enough cannabis to make about 2 spli***.”
by SamSamson
Thursday, March 07 2013, 3:41PM
“"Defending Shakespeare, Giles Nelson said the bricklaying student at City of Bristol College had no means to pay for a fine but could rely on his parents and would pay them back by doing "chores around the house".
Remind me never to have Giles Nelson defending me!”
by BedmoBanjo
Thursday, March 07 2013, 3:17PM
“Glad to see all this war on drugs money is being used to good effect. Task force of forty officers brought this hardened criminal down. It's estimated street value was £100 as it was "super-skunk" mixed with plastic and heroin.
What was the judge's salary for his time in court? Suspect a lot more than £10.
Why is this kid living in a shed?!”
by JimBob
Thursday, March 07 2013, 12:40PM
“Looks like the police are now acting as the tax man. Taxes for having a bedroom, taxes for smoking, taxes for breathing oxygen, taxes for taking a ****, taxes for eating an apple, taxes for taking a p1ss.
This country is going to ****, fast.”
by DockLobster
Thursday, March 07 2013, 9:37AM
“His parents make him sleep in a shed, he's the victim, I hope he spends the £20 well.
Maybe buy some weed with it.”
by JP1972
Thursday, March 07 2013, 9:22AM
“£20 victim surcharge?
Who is the victim? No victim, no crime. Who is the victim? I hope this 18 year old man realises he has committed no real crime, rather, he has been taxed by the prohibition of cannabis scam.
They even say it's not medicine! A lie told often enough, is accepted as truth, and the more ridiculous the lie, the less people can believe a government could possible lie so huge.”
by DockLobster
Thursday, March 07 2013, 9:18AM
“"£20 victim surcharge."
Who is the victim here?
Can anyone explain what this means, perhaps the journalist?”