A man was yesterday charged and granted bail over the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Jamal Washington, 29, of North East La Penitence, Georgetown was taken before Principal Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the George-town Magistrate’s Court to answer to the two charges.
The first charge states that on April 23, at Evans Street, Charlestown, he had in his possession a .32 Taurus pistol, while he was not the lawful holder of a firearm licence.
It is also alleged that he had five live rounds of .32 ammunition, while he was not the lawful holder of a firearm licence.
The court also heard that the police allegedly beat him while he was in custody.
Washington, who was represented by attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson, pleaded not guilty to the two charges. Thompson then told the court that his client was leaving the Masjid on Friday last when he noticed a group of men “hanging out” and shortly afterward the police arrived in a patrol vehicle. Thompson said that the men started running and his client also ran because the police had a habit of arresting persons in the area.
He said that Washington fell and bruised himself, giving the police time to catch up to him. He said that his client did not have any of the items mentioned in the charges against him. Thompson also said that Washington has been in police custody since Friday, which is more than the stipulated 72 hours of detainment.
However, the police prosecutor said that the police who were on patrol observed that the suspect was acting in a suspicious manner and that the firearm was found in the crotch of his pants.
Washington was released on $100,000 bail on each charge and was told that the condition for his bail is that he reports to the Brickdam Police Station every four days at 9am. The matter was adjourned until June 2.
