Teen hands over gun to police and asks to go to jail

A teenager was sentenced to five years in prison after he handed over a firearm and ammunition to police and told them he wants to go to jail.

Clinton “Weed Eye” Cambridge, a 19-year-old resident of Malla Village, Sion Hill, received his sentence after being found with a 9 mm pistol, along with 36 live rounds of 9 mm ammunition and 873 grams of cannabis on December 26, 2015.

According to police, the firearm and ammunition were found when they executed a search warrant on Cambridge’s home on Boxing Day, last year.

PC 865 Joseph, an officer attached to the Criminal Investigations Unit (CID), was amongst the party of CID officers who executed the warrant when he observed Cambridge putting his right hand into his pants waist and removing the firearm, which he threw on to a nearby mattress stating, “Heh, I give you everything.”

Upon retrieving the firearm, Joseph noticed that it had a magazine with a full clip of live rounds.

Following this, Cambridge took a black plastic bag out of his pants pocket and threw it on the said mattress, stating “Officer I give you everything now; let’s go, I wah go jail.”

Joseph retrieved the bag and counted 20 rounds of live ammunition in addition to the 16 rounds previously found in the magazine.

Cambridge was then arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlicensed ammunition and was taken to the CID.

“I was a little speedy when I was younger, but as I grow up I start see life different,” he explained to chief magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias, when he appeared before the Serious Offences Court on Wednesday.

Cambridge, who was uneasy during the entire proceedings, further explained that he understood that no one would understand his side of the story, so he gave the gun and ammunition to the police, but he tried to explain while in the police transport.

The teenager told the court that he traded the gun for marijuana because he felt unsafe.

Although originally entering a ‘not guilty’ plea to the possession of cannabis, Cambridge went on to reveal that he smoked the cannabis to calm his nerves, so he would not be easily aggravated.

“These offences carry serious penalties,” the chief magistrate said.

“You have police officers come in your place and you have a loaded weapon? It could have been a bloodbath,” Browne-Matthias said.

She said she then considered Cambridge’s age and the amount of ammunition before sentencing him to five years in prison for the firearm and three years for the ammunition.

The sentences will run concurrently.

“It’s unfortunate you felt the need to carry a gun… not a soul out for you. You are your greatest enemy,” Browne-Matthias told the Bethel High School drop out.

“You need to settle right down, try to get into the prison education programme, read good books.”

After hearing his sentence on the gun and ammunition charges, Cambridge pleaded guilty to the possession of the cannabis, which police found upon a further search of the house.

He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment on that charge, which will also run concurrently with the other sentences.

Ballistic expert Corporal 645 Richardson of the Special Services Unit (SSU) revealed that the 9mm semi-automatic pistol serial number 45954717 and the 36 rounds of live ammunition tested operational.(AS)