Conviction Upheld for Abaco Businessman

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The country’s top local court has upheld the drug and firearms convictions of a 60-year-old Abaco businessman. 

The ruling means that Charles Bodie will have to serve the four-sentence handed down by Magistrate Samuel McKinney on June 22.

Bodie, an auto mechanic and tow truck driver, operates his business BER Automotive from his residence on S C Bootle Highway.

On October 7, 2022, officers went to the property with a search warrant.

The officers found 2,900 pounds of marijuana, two kilos of cocaine, three firearms and an assortment of ammunition inside two vans on the property.

One of the vehicles was 25 feet away Bodie’s business office, while the other van was about 25 feet away from his home.

In his post arrest statement, Bodie claimed that a man called Bird had paid him $600 to store one of the vehicles. However, he was unable to say how the other van got onto his property. Bodie said that he didn’t give Bird a receipt.

The court rejected arguments that Bodie didn’t know that the vans on his property contained contraband.