WESTERN BUREAU

A man who was said to be illegally offering goods to tourists on the Hip Strip in Montego Bay, was granted bail and banned from that area when he appeared before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Leon Gooden, a craft vendor of Canterbury in Montego Bay, pleaded guilty to two counts of offering goods for sale without a licence, two counts of assaulting a police constable, two counts of resisting arrest and possession of ganja stemming from two separate incidents in June and September.

Hip Strip

The investigating officer told the court that Gooden is one of several persons who are frequently on the Hip Strip trying to sell items to tourists. The court also learnt that a warrant was outstanding for the accused, as he failed to attend court for his trial on a similar charge.

He, however, pleaded guilty to all the charges saying that he wanted to dispose of the matters and move on with his life.

Gooden was granted $20,000 bail and was banned from the City Centre Building and the Hip Strip and was also warned not to harass the tourists. Sentencing was postponed until November 7, as the court awaits a social enquiry report.

Boisterous

It was outlined in court that on September 24, the investigating officer was on Gloucester Avenue when he observed the accused placing an armband on a tourist's hand. The constable requested a search but the accused became boisterous and began using indecent language.

A search of his person revealed a package of ganja. The police held him to arrest him, but Gooden pulled away and punched the constable on his ear.