A taxi-driver and his passenger have both been found innocent of a firearm possession charge.
Jason Augustine and Mark Bobb-Semple walked out of the courtroom of Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus free men after she found them not guilty of the charge that on October 12th, 2018, at Croal Street, Georgetown, they had a 9 mm pistol in their possession without having a firearm licence at the time.
The two had pleaded not guilty when the charge was first read to them in 2018. It was reported that ranks from the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit had intercepted the car, PNN 5156, which was driven by Bobb-Semple. Augustine was his passenger at the time. A search of the vehicle was conducted and this led to the discovery of the weapon in a brown haversack in the backseat.
In court on Thursday, Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus listed a number of reasons the two were innocent. She stated that while a question commonly brought up throughout the trial was whether they had knowledge of the weapon in the back seat, the court had taken into consideration that neither of the men was the registered owner of the vehicle the weapon was found in. She further explained that the pistol could have been left by the owner of the vehicle. She also reminded the court that Augustine was merely a passenger on the day of the arrest.
