A three-year sentence was yesterday handed down to taxi driver Kacey Chapman, one of three men jointly charged with illegal possession of guns and ammunition that were discovered in his car at High and Princes, Georgetown, last year.
Chapman was charged alongside Sheldon Andrews, 24, and Adam McDonald, 30, with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm and two counts of illegal possession of ammunition.
It was alleged that on November 26th, 2018, at High and Princes streets, the three men had a .32 Taurus pistol in their possession while not being licensed firearm holders. It was also alleged that on the same date, they were in possession of a 9mm Glock pistol without being licensed firearm holders.
The two final charges stated that on November 26th, 2018, at High and Princes streets, the three defendants had in their possession 12 live 9mm rounds of ammunition and 7 live rounds of .32 ammunition, without being licensed firearm holders.
While Chapman was found guilty, the charges against Andrews and McDonald were earlier dismissed after Magistrate Rondell Weaver found that the prosecution failed to make out a case against them.
At the sentencing hearing yesterday, a probation report in favour of Chapman was read to the court.
According to the report, persons in Chapman’s neighbourhood described him as quiet, mannerly and a hard worker. Persons at the taxi base where he worked also expressed their surprise at Chapman’s involvement in the crimes.
The report further noted that the accused maintained that the bag in which the illegal weapons were found belonged to a passenger, one of the other men charged.
His attorney, Adrian Thompson, subsequent to the probation report being read, requested that his client be granted a suspended sentence.
Magistrate Weaver, prior to sentencing Chapman, stated that she took into consideration the defendant’s age, the fact that he is a first time offender, the nature of the offence, and the fact that the probation report had mitigating factors that were in his favour. It was noted, however, that the offences do not warrant a noncustodial sentence but a custodial one.
Chapman was then sentences to three years for each firearm charge and two years for each ammunition charge. The sentences are expected to run concurrently, which would result in Chapman only serving three years.
According to the prosecutor’s case, the firearms were found under the front seat of the car driven by Chapman. Andrews and McDonald were in the backseat at the time.
During the trial, all the witnesses, with the exception of one, told the court that Andrews and McDonald were seen outside of a car before ranks searched the vehicle and the firearm and ammunition were found. One of the witnesses stated that prior to the arrest of the trio, Andrews was walking along the street when he was stopped by a car and began engaging in a conversation with the driver of the car, who was later identified as Chapman.
