The Serious Offences Court has jailed Orde McTair, a 41-year-old farmer of Penniston, for 39 months for firearm, drug and ammunition.
Mc Tair, Milton Charles, a 35-year-old plumber, of Penniston, and Deiroy Glasgow, a 36-year-old farmer, of Rabacca and Penniston, were arrested as officers from various units of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force conducted a joint operation in Bower Mountain on March 26.
They were charged jointly that on March 26, they had in their possession a Glock 23 pistol, 11 rounds of .40 ammunition without a license and five grammes of cocaine.
Mc Tair pleaded guilty to the charges and Charles and Glasgow pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Inspector of police Renrick Cato, accepted Mc Tair’s plea and withdrew the charges against Charles and Glasgow.
The court heard that at 6 a.m. on March 26, Police Constable 73 Jack was among a party of Rapid Response Unit (RRU) officers on a joint operation headed by station sergeant John, in Bower Mountain, Georgetown, to search a cannabis farm for firearms, ammunition and controlled drugs.
The law enforcement officers went to a hut on the farm and met three males inside sleeping.
Station Sergeant John, a member of the party, woke the men and identified himself and the other officers as police officers. He informed them of their duties and requested a search of the said hut.
The court further heard that one male who was next to Jack attempted to run, but Jack held on to him and immediately conducted a search on his person.
Nothing illegal was found and Jack proceeded to search the bunk bed that the man had been sleeping on.
During the search, Jack found a firearm wrapped in a multi-coloured sheet that was on the bunk.
Jack showed it to the defendants in the presence of John and cautioned them. They denied knowledge of the firearm.
The firearm was checked and found to contain 11 rounds of ammunition.
The law enforcement officers also found five grammes of cocaine during their search.
PC Jack then pointed out the offence of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, cautioned them and informed them that he was arresting them.
The defendants were then taken to the Central Police Station, where Jack reminded them that they were still under caution and asked if they wished to give a written statement.
The men declined.
In mitigation, Mc Tair’s lawyer, Grant Connell, suggested to the court that a non-custodial sentence be imposed.
However, Chief Magistrate Colin John thought otherwise.
Mc Tair had a previous conviction for firearm possession.
The Chief Magistrate sentenced Mc Tair to 39 months in prison for the firearm, 39 months for the ammunition, and three months for the cocaine.
He ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
