A man was remanded to prison by Magistrate Hazel Octive Hamilton yesterday on illegal possession of a gun and matching ammunition.
Kenneth Joaquim, 22 of 428 ‘A’ Field, South Sophia pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him. It is alleged that on June 2 at Le Repentir Cemetery, he had in his possession a .32 revolver without being the holder of a licence. Further, he was also accused of having two .32 rounds of ammunition without lawful authority.
Attorney Lyndon Amsterdam, in a bail application for Joaquim, said that when the firearm was found, there were two other persons in close proximity. He said his client was asked by another to accompany him to the area and they saw the gun on the ground. Further, the attorney said that all persons denied knowledge of the firearm, which raised the question of possession when multiple persons could have had possession of the item. He added that the prosecution has to prove that the defendant had exclusive possession of the gun.
Amsterdam said the thrust of his argument for special reasons for bail was that there were other persons present at the time of the incident. He asked for reasonable bail.
Police Prosecutor Shaundel Daniels objected to bail and said the facts differs from those presented by defence. Daniels explained that there were three persons in the vicinity of the cemetery.
The police were on patrol and spotted a parked white car. They then saw Joaquim and two persons coming out of the cemetery. When confronted by the police, Joaquim allegedly took a shiny object from under his t-shirt and threw it onto the parapet. The object was retrieved and found to be a firearm. She asked for him to be remanded and a date given for trial.
Amsterdam queried if the police saw Joaquim alone with the gun, why did they arrest two other persons in relation to the matter.
Joaquim was remanded and the matter put down for August 4, when the trial in the matter is expected to begin.
