Gun-possession convicts handed tough sentences
Published:Monday | April 11, 2022 | 12:09 AM
FIREARM SEIZURES by the St Catherine South police led to two convicted Portmore men being each hit with sentences exceeding five years in separate Gun Court cases last week, sending what cops hope will be a strong message to criminals.
The sentencing comes as lawmakers on a joint select committee mull over proposed changes to the Firearms Act that could see offenders convicted of illegal possession of a firearm face life terms, with a mandatory jail time of 15 years before parole.
Ricardo Campbell, who changed his plea to guilty mid-trial on February 15, was last week sentenced to seven years and three months by Justice Judith Pusey. Campbell was found in possession of a Browning 9mm pistol, loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, in July 2021.
Campbell was arrested during a stop-and-search operation in Garveymeade, Portmore, by the St Catherine South Division’s Special Operations Unit. The gun was seized during an operation conducted in response to a number of murders.
In another matter, Romain Pusey, a resident of Greater Portmore, was sentenced to six years and six months by Justice Sonia Bertram-Linton for possession of a Beretta pistol, as well as three years and two months for 16 rounds of ammunition recovered from the weapon.
Romain Pusey was found guilty on December 17, 2021, after being charged for possession of the loaded 9mm pistol on August 2, 2021.
Evidence was given that during a snap operation led by Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips in Greater Portmore, Pusey was searched and the gun found in a waist bag hanging around the defendant’s neck.
Pusey admitted during the trial that the gun was found on his person, but claimed he did not know that the waist bag contained the pistol.
Police statistics show that the gun is the weapon of choice in more than 80 per cent of murders annually.