Motorcyclist busted with 115 grams of marijuana on highway during checkpoint search

Published by BBNTEAM at August 26, 2024

Posted: Monday, August 26, 2024. 10:25 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Marty Allen Villa, a 33-year-old construction worker from Sandhill Village, found himself in legal trouble after being caught with cannabis. Villa was initially charged with drug trafficking, but after pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance, he was fined a significant amount.

During the court hearing at the Belize City Magistrate Court, Villa admitted to possessing 115 grams of cannabis but denied the charge of drug trafficking. Despite his plea, he was fined $800 plus an additional cost of court fine. Villa has until October 18 to pay the fine, or he will face six months of imprisonment.

Villa emphasized to the Senior Magistrate that the cannabis was for his personal use and not intended for distribution. Luckily for Villa, the court accepted his guilty plea for possession simpliciter, avoiding the minimum mandatory fine of $10,000 or 3 years of imprisonment, or both, for drug trafficking. The magistrate, while acknowledging Villa’s early guilty plea and mitigating factors, imposed a fine of $800, taking into account the aggravating factors of possessing a significantly larger amount of cannabis than what is allowed by law.

The arrest and subsequent legal proceedings stemmed from an incident on the Phillip Goldson Highway between Miles 13 and 14. While conducting a vehicular checkpoint, a police officer signalled Villa to pull over, as he noticed the strong aroma of cannabis emanating from Villa’s motorcycle. Upon inspection, a transparent plastic bag containing cannabis was discovered under the seat of the motorcycle.

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