A 21-year-old Bequia man who said he had an unlicensed firearm because his life had been threatened has been jailed for 24 months.
Troy Solomon, a landscaper, pleaded guilty at the Serious Offences Court on Monday to charges that on June 27, at Arnos Vale, he had in his possession one .22 semi-automatic Beretta firearm and one round of .22 ammunition without a license under the Firearms Act.
The facts, presented by Inspector of Police Renrick Cato, are that on June 27, about 9:50 p.m., police officers were conducting a stop and search operation at the ET Joshua Tarmac.
PC 206 Morgan, a member of the party, became suspicious after observing motor vehicle RC211 overtake several vehicles in the inner lane.
The officer stopped the vehicle, which was driven by Solomon and had one other passenger.
The occupants of the vehicle had nothing illegal on their persons but Morgan found the firearm in a Galaxy Jansport bag on the front seat of the vehicle.
The ammunition was in the chamber of the weapon.
In a caution statement, Solomon told police:
“The gun belongs to me and I have it because of a life-threatening situation where I was previously assaulted and I received threats to my life. I found the gun in the bushes at Bagga and kept it since.”
Before mitigating on behalf of her client, Counsel Charmaine Walters told the court that Solomon had something to say.
Solomon apologised to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and his family for his actions.
In outlining the aggravating and mitigating features of the offence, Walters told the court that the weapon was not discharged, used to commit any other offence, nor did Solomon intend to use it to harm anyone.
She also told the court it was Solomon’s first offence and suggested a hefty fine rather than a custodial sentence.
After applying the sentencing guidelines to the case, Chief Magistrate Colin John arrived at a sentence of 24 months for the firearm and six months for the ammunition, to run concurrently.
The court also ordered that the weapon be confiscated.
Solomon faced a maximum of 10 years in prison for the firearm.