A woman whose lawyer suggested that she be fined for possession of 10 rounds of unlicensed ammunition was given a suspended sentence after her lawyer said she could not pay the fine.
The woman, Dianza Dublin, a 34-year-old caretaker, of Rose Place, had pleaded guilty to possession of 10 rounds of .22 ammunition on Feb. 14.
She was charged alongside her sister, Keticia Dublin, a 33-year-old auxiliary police officer, of Cemetery Hill, Kingstown, who pleaded guilty and was released after her sister was sentenced.
The women appeared before John at the Serious Offences Court on Monday.
Presenting the facts, the prosecutor, Inspector of Police Renrick Cato told the court that on Feb. 14, about 2:30 p.m., Sergeant 403 John headed a party of Rapid Response Unit officers to the home of Deanza Dublin, at Rose Place, to search for controlled drugs.
The officers had a warrant and met the Dublin sisters at home. They consented to the search.
The officers found the ammunition in a blue handbag in Dianza Dublin’s bedroom.
When cautioned, she said, “Officer, I don’t know about that.”
The police conducted the requisite procedures and confirmed that the ammunition was live and Dublin did not have a permit to keep or deal in ammunition.
In mitigation, defence counsel Grant Connell told the court that his client has two children and earns EC$600 a month.
He asked that the woman not be jailed.
The court established a starting fine and the parties (prosecution, defence, and court) considered the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case and the defendant.
However, at one point, Connell suggested that months imprisonment be deducted from the sentence and Cato protested, saying that the parties had agreed that the woman should pay a fine rather than go to prison.
He questioned how it was then that Connell was suggesting the subtraction of “months” when they were formulating a fine.
Cato further noted that the woman could be fined and imprisoned for her offence.
After working through the sentencing guidelines, the court arrived at a fine of EC$6,000.
Connell then said that the woman could not afford to pay the amount and argued for a suspended sentence.
The lawyer convinced the magistrate, despite Cato’s argument to the contrary, that a suspended sentence did not apply to possession of firearms.
John then sentenced Dublin to one year imprisonment suspended for one year.
“You are sentenced to one year imprisonment but fortunately for you, you would not be going there immediately,” he told her.
What a joke, many things have turned into grimly unfunny joke lately.