Paraplegic spared of custodial sentence

And a former police officer, who is a paraplegic, was spared a custodial sentence today by Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Fifty-five year old Barrington “Bo” Williams was found guilty of Drug Trafficking, but the magistrate said that although Williams has had several similar convictions, she does not know if the prison has the facilities to accommodate his disability. Williams was instead fined ten thousand dollars and given until May thirty-first to pay. If he defaults on the payment, he will then have to serve three years in prison. But the magistrate also felt that Williams needed to understand the seriousness of the offense and so she bonded him to keep the peace for two years. But in breach of the bond, the three year sentence would take effect. The charge against Williams stems from a search of his home on Amara Avenue that yielded a miniscule half ounce of crack cocaine. Williams testified that his friend brought the drugs and asked him to cut it up. Clive Gentle, who was present during the search, was jointly charged with Williams but was acquitted after he testified that he was only at the house buying wine and Williams’ testimony supported that statement.