Two men accused by the police of having an unlicensed gun and a quantity of ammunition in their possession were yesterday remanded to prison when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The allegation against Lloyd Jupiter and Lennox Kennedy, 55, is that on Wednesday at Station Street, Kitty, they had in their possession a .32 Taurus revolver and six live rounds of .32 ammunition, without relevant licences.
Appearing before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, the jointly charged duo denied the charges levelled against them.
Police Corporal Venetta Pindar, in presenting the prosecution’s case, said that on the day in question at about 9:45pm, the men were in motor car HB 7527, when a mobile police patrol saw them acting in a suspicious manner.
Pindar said that the defendants were stopped and a search of the vehicle was carried out, resulting in the discovery of the articles mentioned in the charge. The men were later arrested and charged and according to the Prosecutor, Jupiter admitted that the weapon and ammunition were his.
When asked about its position on the issue of bail, Prosecutor Stephen Telford told the acting chief magistrate that the prosecution had no objection to Kennedy, of Lot 308 West Ruimveldt, being granted his pre-trial liberty. Telford, however, objected to Jupiter being admitted to bail, noting that no special circumstances existed, as is needed when considering bail for such offences.
Meanwhile, attorney Adrian Thompson, who represented Kennedy, made an application for his client to be admitted to reasonable bail on the grounds that he had no antecedents, posed no risk of flight and had been cooperating with police investigations.
Thompson said that his client, who is a taxi driver, was merely plying his trade when he was hired by Jupiter and had no knowledge of the offence for which he stood accused. The lawyer in arguing for bail for his client contended that these circumstances amounted to special reasons relating to the offence and not the offender as it should be.
Jupiter, meantime, who said that his lawyer was Peter Hugh, who was absent from court when the matter was called, related told the court that he only accepted that the items mentioned in the charge were his because of fear. He however quickly told the court that the items were not his and that he knew nothing about them.
After hearing the arguments, the Magistrate informed the men that they will be remanded to prison until next Monday.
