A British model has been sentenced to five years in prison after he was caught with roughly $40 worth of marijuana while in Bali, Indonesia. Jed Texas was arrested in April after police raided his villa in Canggu and found eight bags containing a total of 85.15 grams of weed. He pleaded guilty at Denpasar District Court and said the crime left him “in pain and shrouded with shame,” The Sun reports.
- He’ll serve his time at Kerobokan Prison. As you can probably imagine, this isn’t a great place to be. Kerobokan is notorious for its hellish conditions including rodent infestations, crime, violence, and drugs. In other words, it’s not going to be a walk in the park. Texas, who’s a friend of Kate Moss, will be spending his five years there.
- Police were tipped off to the stash. According to local police, a public tipoff was what led them to raid the villa. When they got there, it’s said that Texas, real name Jed Higgins, ran out of the bedroom and began trying to flush the nine bags of weed down the toilet.
- He told police he uses weed for his anxiety. During a court appearance, he explained that he’s dependant on marijuana to treat his anxiety and mental illness. The court often considers such a claim when making sentencing decisions. “I couldn’t go home (during the pandemic) so I bought a lot of marijuana to relieve my anxiety,” he’s quoted as saying.
- He could have spent up to 20 years in prison. With that in mind, it seems five years (minus the seven months he already served awaiting trial) is a generous sentence. “The defendant’s actions have damaged the image of Bali as a tourist destination,” said Judge Gede Putra Astawa. Texas will also have to pay a fine of around $80,000 or risk a further six months in prison.
- Jed Texas plans to appeal his conviction. However, it’s uncertain how successful he will be in that appeal and how long the process will take. It could be that he serves nearly all of his sentence before the outcome is decided.
