A city magistrate yesterday dismissed charges against a plumber who was charged last year over having a loaded unlicensed pistol, which police say he fired in a public place.
Keiron Hinds, of Lot 4 Smyth Street, Werk-en-Rust, was on trial before Magistrate Dylon Bess.
The first charge alleged that Hinds, on April 16, 2018, at Fifth Street, Alberttown, had a Taurus pistol in his possession without being the holder of a firearm licence.
It was further alleged that on the same date and at the same location, Hinds had five rounds of ammunition in his possession without being the holder of a firearm licence.
The final charge against him stated that on April 16, at Fifth Street, Alberttown, he discharged a firearm in a public way.
It was the prosecutor’s facts that on the day in question, someone called 911 and reported that someone was discharging a loaded firearm at the location. When the police visited the area and saw Hinds, they approached him and he ran.
Constable Holder, according to the prosecutor, then gave chase, and about 10 feet away saw the defendant, who pulled out a shiny weapon from his waist and discharged a round in Holder’s direction.
Other ranks then gave chase and the defendant was observed throwing the firearm onto the roadway. He was later arrested, the firearm was recovered and he was taken to the Alberttown Police Station.
A month after being granted bail, Hinds no longer appeared before the courts to answer to the charges. However, his attorney, Siand Dhurjon, who was retained in full, represented him throughout the court proceedings.
During yesterday, the charges were dismissed after the magistrate upheld a no-case submission made by Dhurjon.
According to the attorney, the firearm that was allegedly used to commit the offence was never tendered into evidence, since the rank who was supposed to testify in relation to it never appeared before the court.
