Man charged with gun possession removed from court after outburst

Redemption Sharpes resident Mwata Henry made his feelings known at the Serious Offences Court last week with an outburst that saw him being removed from the courtroom.

Henry, 25, is charged that on August 15, in the Murray’s Village area, he was in possession of a prohibited weapon – a nine-millimetre Uzi. He was also charged with possession of 12 nine-millimetre rounds without a licence.

Henry is jointly charged with Akeem Ferdinand, 22, of Rockies, and 34-year-old Marlon Wyllie of Murray’s Village, but Ferdinand took blame for the firearm and ammunition and after pleading guilty, was sentenced on August 21, to six years at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP).

Currently, Henry and Wyllie are on remand and have been denied bail, as prosecutors, despite the guilty plea by Ferdinand, will pursue the possession charges against the two men.

When Henry and Wyllie appeared in court on September 4, Wyllie was calm when Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias further remanded him and Henry until Tuesday, September 19.

After leaving the dock, Henry shouted, “Why we can’t get bail? I have children to see ‘bout and I in jail for something I ain’t know bout.”

When told to be quiet, he bellowed, “Quiet wah; I fighting for my rights…I in jail for gun I ain’t know ‘bout..” He was whisked from the court by police officers.

Henry, unemployed and Wyllie, a vendor, have pleaded not guilty to the firearm and ammunition charges and when they first appeared in court on August 17, prosecutor Elgin Richards, in objecting to bail, said with the recent spate of gun crimes in Redemption Sharpes and the proximity to where the men were found, they should be kept in custody. He further stated that certain exhibits that were retrieved from the last crime scene in Redemption Sharpes point to the weapon that was found in the defendants’ possession. Richards also stated that the case is a matter of national security and affects not just Redemption Sharpes, but is wider and far-reaching.

In relation to the same matter, Henry, at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday, August 21, pleaded guilty to driving an uninsured vehicle without a licence and driving a vehicle without a driver’s permit. He was fined $450 forthwith, or three months in prison for driving without a driver’s permit and $250 forthwith, or two months in prison for driving an uninsured vehicle.