When police asked Michael Lloyd what he was growing, he said pineapple, according to prosecutors. He pleaded not guilty to the cultivation and possession of marijuana in Magistrates’ Court Friday.
On July 11, police were in the Brewers Bay area after responding to an anonymous phone call, Crown Counsel Leslie Ann Faulkner told the court. They met the defendant, who was holding a machete, and identified themselves as officers in plain clothes.
“Mr. Lloyd also had with him some sort of bush or vegetation in his hand,” Ms. Faulkner said. Asked why he was using the machete Mr. Lloyd allegedly said he was using it to cultivate pineapple.
Afterward, Mr. Lloyd led the officers to a nearby shed he owned, the prosecutor said. After observing a ladder leaning against the small building, officers located four pots planted with what they suspected to be marijuana, Ms. Faulkner added. The plants were roughly three feet high.
“Asked who they belonged to, Lloyd [allegedly] replied: ‘It’s weed, they are mine — I was going to hide them in the morning; can you cut me a break?’” Ms. Faulkner said.
During a police interview after he was arrested and charged with the cultivation and possession of marijuana, Mr. Lloyd denied that the plants were his, the prosecutor said.
His trial is scheduled for Oct. 10.
See the Aug. 23, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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