By Paul A. Reid, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
AN ARUBAN man nabbed leaving the country with more than US$30,000 last November was on Friday found guilty of the unlawful possession of property in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court.
Jose Guerra, a 44-year-old father of four, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years while the US$30,720 (about $1.9 million) was confiscated under the orders of the Crown.
In her summation before handing down sentence, Acting Senior Resident Magistrate Valrie Stephens cited a number of inconsistencies in Guerra's sworn testimony.
The judge said Guerra had told the court he was both short and long-sighted and did not have his glasses on the day he was arrested, yet he managed to read the immigration card that was part of the evidence without the use of glasses.
ENGLISH
Ms. Stephens also pointed out that Guerra claimed he did not understand English well enough to have a conversation but was able to fill out his immigration card and was also able to tell the police when he was arrested that he had a sight problem.
The judge said the Aruban's credibility was in question because of his inconsistencies and described his demeanour while in the witness box as being "very poor".
IMPROBABLE
She said that while the case must be judged on the balance of probabilities, Guerra was not a witness of truth and there were aspects of his evidence that were not candid and described his evidence as 'highly improbable." The defence, she said, had failed to show how he came into the money by lawful means.
Guerra had told the court that he was an international salesman and partner in a small company that traded between the Netherland Antilles and Venezuela, and that he had brought the money to Jamaica to invest here.
Guerra was arrested after two bags he had checked in were searched and the money found in a secret compartment in the bottom of a brown leather bag. He told the court he travelled with cash as it was easier to do business that way.
