Four men charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and 30 rounds of ammunition have been remanded into custody until Monday for bail review.
The men, Sharome Dopwell, Erel Hector, Dakari Hector, of Paul’s Avenue and Ashroy Patterson, of Layou, are charged that on Nov. 7, at Walvaroo, Sion Hill, they had in their possession one back Polymerso pistol, make and serial number unknown, without a license issued under the Firearms Act.
They were further charged that on the same date and place, they had in their possession 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition without a license issued under the Firearms Act.
Patterson pleaded guilty to both charges while his co-accused pleaded not guilty when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offences Court on Monday.
The prosecutor, Inspector of Police Renrick Cato, accepted Patterson’s guilty plea but informed the court that the prosecution was still proceeding against the three other men.
Cato asked that the hearing of the facts and the sentencing for Patterson be set aside until a later date.
The prosecutor objected to bail for the four accused because of the seriousness of the offence, adding that the police investigation involves “technology” and investigators were fearful that the men would interfere with the investigation if released on bail.
Cato further pointed out that Dopwell was on bail for an offence of a similar nature that involved the alleged use of a firearm.
Meanwhile, defence counsel Grant Connell said that given the plethora of applications, he was of the view that a bail application would fail.
He asked the court that the matter be given the shortest possible adjournment and suggested that it be recalled on Thursday.
However, Cato asked to be given a week. The court adjourned the matter to Monday.
Dopwell is among six people charged with attempted murder and other offences in connection with the robbery of a credit union in South Rivers on July 16, 2024.