Devonshire man guilty of possessing bullets and nearly $1 million worth of heroin

A Devonshire man is facing a potentially lengthy prison sentence, after being unanimously found guilty of possessing close to $1 million worth of diamorphine (heroin) with intent to supply, along with six bullets.

Forty-two-year-old Winston Paynter was yesterday found guilty by a Supreme Court Jury, following a lengthy week-long trial, where the accused attempted to place the blame for drugs found inside an apartment he rented along North Shore Road on an unnamed cousin.

Paynter was originally found with a manila envelope containing heroin during a traffic stop on April 11, 2019, after police had seen the man acting suspiciously while driving, in tossing the package into the back of a van he operated as part of his job as a refrigeration technician.

After finding the drug package in the vehicle, police proceeded to make a search of the North Shore apartment rented by Paynter, where more heroin was found, along with an amount of sleeping pills – supposedly used as a ‘cutting’ agent digital scales, a cutting board with traces of cannabis found on it, as well as several rounds of ammunition.

Throughout the trial Paynter sought to place blame for the items found in the house on a mysterious cousin, who he said was the actual resident at the property, claiming himself to have lived at his girlfriend’s home.

Prosecutor Alan Richards successfully argued that Paynter was merely trying to shift blame from himself, the true culprit, to someone else, as a desperate act to avoid culpability.

Paynter also suggested to Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe that he had not had enough time to prepare his case for trial, despite it being four years old.

The jury bought little of Paynter’s stories, convicting Paynter by a unanimous verdict of possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of ammunition without a licence.

Following the guilty verdict Mr Wolffe adjourned, while remanding Paynter in custody until the sentencing date of April 6.

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