Gun lover gets three years in jail for possession

Omari Hannaway’s penchant for guns has landed him in jail.

The 19-year-old Long Wall resident, who had photographs of him posing with guns, was, on Tuesday at the Serious Offences Court, sentenced to three years in jail for possession of a firearm and six months for one round of ammunition.{{more}}

The teenager, who first appeared in court on Monday, pleaded not guilty to the charges, but subsequently changed his plea the following day.

His sentences will run concurrently.

“I just have a liking for guns. When I go on the Internet, I go on Google and look for the latest guns, but I don’t walk around with them,” Hannaway told the court.

According to the facts, on February 13, PC 657 Westfield had taken Hannaway into custody in relation to a cellular phone.

While in custody, Westfield searched the phone Hannaway had in his possession and saw him posing with guns.

Hannaway was then taken to his home and a search warrant executed; the gun was discovered under his bed, along with one round of .38 ammunition.

When cautioned, Hannaway told police officers that he had found the gun and ammunition in a crocus bag, brought them to his home and hid them under his bed.

In his explanation to the court, Hannaway told Chief Magistrate Sonya Young that about three weeks prior to his arrest, he was walking through Pole Yard, Arnos Vale, when he came close to a tree near to the E.T. Joshua Airport fence.

“When I walking, I see a crocus bag hang up in the tree and I go and see what it be and when I look I see like ah nozzle fo’ a gun and some other dismantled parts, so I took the bag way it been in and put it in the bag I had,” Hannaway said.

Hannaway, who told the magistrate he did not know what to do when he found the gun, even stated that he fitted up the gun while at home.

When the chief magistrate perused the photographs on the phone, one showed Hannaway holding a gun in his hand and another placed in his trousers’ waist.

In his explanation, Hannaway said the gun in his waist belonged to a friend that had visited him.

“Ah friend pass by me. He come from Trinidad and I bring out the gun way I find and show him and he showed me one (gun) he had in his waist too.”

“You think guns are a joke? These are not meant for joke. You are posing with them like you’re going for a queen show. After this, I don’t know how much you will be in love with guns,” Young said.

Young said it is “worrying” to her that a person of Hannaway’s age is in possession of guns.