Bartica miner jailed for cannabis trafficking; another fined $250,000 for DUI

Two men appeared before the Bartica Magistrate’s Court this week on separate charges; one was sentenced to prison for drug trafficking, and the other was fined for drunk driving and multiple traffic offences.
On Wednesday, Roger Simon, popularly known as “Goat Man”, a 60-year-old gold miner of Lot 25 Fifth Avenue, Bartica, Essequibo River, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for trafficking cannabis. The case was heard by Magistrate Teriq Mohammed, who handed down the custodial sentence after a trial.

Simon had initially pleaded not guilty earlier this year to charges of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and possession of narcotics but was later found guilty.
Simon is no stranger to the courts. In 2022, he was charged along with two others for cannabis trafficking in Bartica. Before that, in 2017, he was acquitted of 12 counts of murder and seven counts of manslaughter in connection with the infamous Bartica massacre of February 17, 2008.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Delon Devon Gilkes, a 43-year-old resident of Sixth Avenue, Bartica, appeared before Magistrate Mohammed on a driving under the influence (DUI) charge. Gilkes pleaded guilty and was fined $250,000, with an alternative of three months’ imprisonment.
In addition to the DUI, Gilkes was slapped with five other traffic-related charges, for which he was fined a further $60,000.