Man turns up to court in shorts after smoking cannabis

A MAN who arrived at court wearing shorts admitted he had smoked cannabis earlier that same morning, before attending his sentencing hearing.

Bryant Charleton (33), of Whitelough Road, Aughnacloy, appeared before Dungannon Magistrates Court on Friday in connection with the cultivation and possession of cannabis.

The court heard that on June 1, police on patrol spotted a van at a property in Aughnacloy that was of interest to them.

Outside the property, officers detected a strong smell of cannabis and arrested Charleton, who admitted he was ‘rolling a joint’ in the kitchen.

A search of the property uncovered several small containers of cannabis in the kitchen.

In a bedroom, officers discovered three cannabis plants growing inside an insulated wardrobe fitted with heat lamps.

One plant was described as ‘fully grown’ and ‘ready to be picked’.

Charleton was later interviewed on July 17 and admitted to cultivating and possessing cannabis.

Having previously pleaded guilty, sentencing was deferred to allow him to engage with probation and seek help for addiction issues.

However, when the case returned to court on Friday, defence barrister Blaine Nugent apologised for his client’s appearance in shorts.

Charleton also informed District Judge Francis Rafferty that he had not attended any probation appointments or drug addiction services.

When asked by Judge Rafferty when he last used cannabis, Charleton replied, ‘this morning’.

The judge also asked if the defendant could produce proof of employment, adding, “Do you have your payslip in your shorts or are they in your dress trousers?”

Mr Nugent requested a short adjournment to allow Charleton to reengage with probation, but Judge Rafferty said he was considering imposing immediate custody to ‘break the cycle’ of drug misuse.

Ultimately, the judge gave the defendant what he described as a ‘final chance’, adjourning the case until June 6 for a short pre-sentence report.