Two men who were nabbed with guns and drugs during a Dorsethsire Hill police operation in February were both sentenced to prison terms.

Dorsetshire Hill residents, Kevin Jessop, 28, and Dennis Crosby, 52, reappeared at the Serious Offences Court on March 13, where Chief Magistrate, Rechanne Browne handed down a jail term of 2.9 years on Jessop, and 3.3 years on Crosby.

The men were jointly charged that on February 1, at Dorsetshire Hill they had in their possession one .9mm Smith and Wesson semi- automatic pistol, serial number #MRB6129, without a license issued under the Firearms Act. The men were further charged for possession of 15 rounds of ammunition, and possession of 3,178 grammes of cannabis, with intent to supply to another.

Jessop pleaded guilty to the charges, while Crosby pleaded not guilty.

Jessop also pleaded guilty to possession of a .9mm semi- automatic pistol, make unknown, serial number AB84417, and possession of 14 rounds of .9mm ammunition without a license under the Firearms Act.

Additionally, he pleaded guilty to possession of 718 grammes of cannabis, and possession of 9.4 grammes of cocaine with the intent to supply to another.

Jessop, who was represented by counsel, Stephen Williams was remanded in custody pending his sentencing, while Crosby who pleaded not guilty was granted bail in the sum of $12,000 with one surety. However, no one signed surety for the defendant and he was remanded.

After a full trial on March 1, Crosby was also found guilty.

On Monday, the chief magistrate handed down her sentence, guided by the sentencing guidelines.

Beginning with Jessop, she found the consequences of the firearm offences to be in category two, while she found the seriousness to be in the highest category.

This brought the magistrate to a starting point of 4.5 years.

She then looked at the aggravating factors of the offences and found that possession has been over a sustained period. She found mitigating that Jessop cooperated with the police.

Both the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offences balanced out. As a result, the sentence was not adjusted.

There were no aggravating factors of the offender.The mitigating factors outweighed those of the aggravating and four months were deducted from the sentence.

Jessop had also pleaded guilty and this resulted in a 1.3 year discount from his sentence.

Jessop was sentenced to two years and nine months for possession of two firearms, and one year for possession of ammunition. A confiscation order was made and both sentences will run concurrently.

Jessop had already spent 21 days on remand and this was deducted from his prison sentence.

For the drug charges, Jessop was fined $1,066.00 for possession of 718 grammes of cannabis or he will spend three weeks in prison. He was also fined $4000.00 for possession of 3,178 grammes of cannabis; in default of payment he will spend two months in prison. For possession of 9.4 grammes of cocaine Jessop was fined $1,330.00 or in default, he will spend one month in prison. A destruction order was also made for the controlled substances.

As for Crosby, who only had one firearm offence, the magistrate found the consequences of the offence to be in the lowest category; while she found the seriousness to fall into the highest category.

This brought the magistrate to a starting point of 3.5 years in prison.

She found aggravating that the possession of the firearm was over a sustained period, and mitigating for the defendant was that possession was a result of trust of a relative. He had also cooperated with the police. Both the aggravating and mitigating factors balanced out.

There were no aggravating factors of the offender, and mitigating for him was that he has mobility issues. As a result, the mitigating factors outweighed those of the aggravating and two months were deducted from the sentence.

The defendant had pled not guilty, therefore no discount was given.

Crosby was sentenced to three years and three months in prison, and one year for possession of 15 rounds of ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently and time already spent on remand was also deducted from his sentence. A confiscation order was also made in respect of the firearm and ammunition.