Pembroke man gets three year jail time on firearm, ammo and drugs charges

A young man will spend the next three years behind bars after he was sentenced for having a firearm and 10 rounds of ammunition in his possession.

Pembroke resident, Ojay ALexander was the fourth offender to appear in the Serious Offences Court for this year 2023 on charges related to gun and ammunition.

The 27 year old appeared in the court before chief magistrate, Rechanne Browne on January 16, where he pleaded guilty to three charges.

He was charged that on January 14,2023 at Pembroke he had in his possession one glock 30 .45 pistol, serial number BBUR783 without a license issued under the Firearms Act. He was also charged for having in his possession 10 rounds of .45 ammunition without a license issued under the Firearms Act. His final charge was that he had in his possession a controlled drug, to wit 955 grammes of cannabis with the intent to supply to another.

According to the facts presented by prosecutor, Renrick Cato, a party of police officers armed with a search warrant, went to the defendant’s home to conduct a search.

During that search, a firearm was found in the bathroom of the house, and when the defendant was cautioned he said “Officer the firearm in mine, my girlfriend doesn’t know anything.”

The firearm was examined and 10 rounds of ammunition were found inside. The defendant also handed over two transparent bags containing cannabis; he was cautioned for having a controlled substance in his possession.

Alexander was represented by counsel, Grant Connell, assisted by counsel, Ronald Marks.

During mitigation, Connell told the court that the defendant is a 27 year old father of three children. He also said that the defendant is a person of good character and noted that he voluntarily surrendered the firearm. In addition, Connell said Alexander showed genuine remorse and he gave good assistance to the police.

Browne began her sentencing with a non-custodial sentence for the possession of 955 grammes of cannabis, and the defendant was fined $1200.00 to be paid forthwith or spend three months in prison.

She also issued a destruction order for the controlled substance.

On the other charges, the chief magistrate started with a custodial sentence of 3.5 years for the possession of the firearm and ammunition. When she looked at the seriousness of the offence, she found it to be in the highest category and the consequence in the lesser category.

She then examined the aggravating factors of the offence and highlighted the prevalence of firearm offences, noting that for the new year the court has seen four offences related to the possession of firearms. Browne further said that the firearm was also well concealed.

When she looked at the mitigating factors of the offence she found none and as a result, four months were added to the sentence.

Also, the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offender balanced out and nothing was added or subtracted from the sentence.

The defendant’s guilty plea went to his credit and this resulted in a 1/3 discount of his sentence bringing it to 2.6 years.

However, due to the prevalence of firearms the chief magistrate decided to step aside from the guidelines and she sentenced the defendant to three years in prison.

Alexander was also sentenced to nine months for the possession of the ammunition. Both sentences will run concurrently. A confiscation order was made for the firearm and ammunition.