An 80-year-old father of 10 was yesterday remanded to prison after being charged with illegal possession of a firearm.
Carl Vanrossum, 80, of Lot 196 Mocha Arcadia appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to having a .38 revolver in his possession on November 25th at South Road, Georgetown while he was not the lawful holder of a firearm licence in force at the time.
Attorney Stanley Moore entered an appearance for Vanrossum and told the court that his client found the gun in a garbage site and was taking the weapon to a police station when the police approached and arrested him.
Police Prosecutor Seon Blackman objected to Vanrossum being released on bail citing the serious nature of the allegation and the penalty the charge attracts.
Facts presented by the prosecutor are that on the day in question, at around 12:00 hors, police received information that an elderly man was walking along South Road with a gun in a plastic bag.
A party of policemen then went to the location where they made contact with the defendant. A search was conducted on him and the alleged firearm was found in a plastic bag. The prosecutor told the court that the man was then arrested.
After listening to the facts, the magistrate remanded Vanrossum to prison. The senior citizen will have to return to court on December 11th.
