A boat captain was given a two-year suspended sentence and a $100,000 fine yesterday after he admitted to having illegal possession of a gun, which he said his boss had asked him to return to its owner in order to get its licence renewed.
Joseph Allen, 64, was read two charges by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown.
The first charge alleged that on July 2nd, at Mabaruma Police Station, Allen had a 9 mm-calibre handgun in his possession without being a licensed firearm holder.
It was also alleged that on the very date Allen was in possession of 11 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Allen pleaded “guilty with explanation” to the charges.
Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield then told the court that around 1 pm on the day in question, Police Constable Williams arrested Allen on an allegation of simple larceny and later escorted him to the Mabaruma Police Station, where a search was carried out. During a search of a blue and grey bag the defendant had on him, the gun and matching rounds were discovered. He was then told of the allegation, cautioned and admitted to the crime.
When given the opportunity to speak, Allen, of Lot 3 Bent Street, Werk-en-Rust, told the court that he had been working as the captain of a tanker, called the “Moring Star,” for the past 10 months and during that time he was aware that the firearm was on board.
He noted that he was shown documentation for the weapon but was told that it needed to be renewed. Allen said that he was told by his boss to take the gun to Mabaruma and give it to the owner so that the licence could be renewed but he was arrested during the journey.
The Chief Magistrate then requested that the prosecutor verify what the accused was saying and she adjourned the proceedings until then. When the proceedings resumed, Allen was represented by attorney Ronald Daniels, who heard that based on checks made it was discovered that the firearm was not registered to anyone.
Daniels, in a plea of mitigation, recounted the story told by Allen and urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence. He noted that his client also suffers from diabetes and would have been admitted to the hospital while in custody prior to being brought to court.
Having heard from both sides, the Chief Magistrate fined the accused $50,000 on each charge and imposed the two-year sentence, which she said would be suspended. She, however, pointed out that if Allen is arrested within the next two years in relation to any matter, he would have to serve the sentence.
