BY JONIQUE GAYNOR, Staff Reporter
NATALEE PATTERSON OF a King Street, Montego Bay, St. James address, failed to convince Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle that she was unaware of the fact that items she was travelling with were stuffed with marijuana. Patterson appeared in the Corporate Area RM Court to answer to charges of possession of, dealing in and taking steps to export marijuana.
Reports are that at about 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 30, Patterson was about to board an Air Jamaica flight to Barbados when a dog alerted his handler to a black, oval-shaped parcel wrapped with masking tape. The package was searched and 11 hammocks with marijuana stuffed in the wooden lining, were found.
Patterson pleaded not guilty and told the RM that she was given the hammocks and other pieces of craft by a man who contracted her to do a 'job'. She further told the court, "nuttin neva did a gwaan fi mi and fi tell you di trute, mi neva did a tink, Your Honor."
UNKNOWN CONTACT
She explained to the court that she made arrangements with the man who told her that someone would pick her up at the Barbadian airport and then take her to sell the craft items. She admitted to the court that she had never been to Barbados before and was not familiar with the person that was supposedly going to pick her up.
RM Gayle found this hard to grasp and asked Patterson to explain why she walked blindly into such an unknown situation. He strongly reprimanded her and told her "I cant believe that you're so naïve... you're so simple". Patterson's relatives begged the RM to be lenient and asked him to consider granting bail. Patterson's mother was inconsolable and cried throughout the entire proceedings. None of her relatives knew about her 'trip' to Barbados.
A fingerprint order was also given and Patterson was remanded in custody until next Friday, when her case will be mentioned again. She will know then, whether her application for bail has been granted
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