Court orders alternative sentence for teen caught with illegal firearm

A teenager from Lowmans Windward was given a suspended sentence, ordered to complete community service, and join a Police Youth Club after pleading guilty to possession of a illegal firearm.

Jaheem Durrant, 17, appeared at the Serious Offences Court before Senior Magistrate, Colin John, for the facts and sentencing of a gun possession charge that was laid against him.

The facts read that on January 6, 2024, around 11:20 a.m, officers from the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), were patrolling in the Lauders area. PC 904 Peters saw Durrant walking along the public road and noticed he was acting suspiciously. He asked the driver to stop the transport.

Peters saw Durrant throw an object into some nearby bushes; he and other officers approached him.

Peters identified himself to Durrant as a police officer and requested a search, to which Durrant consented.

Nothing illegal was found on him.

The Police Constable then informed Durrant of his observation that an object was thrown into the bushes, to which Durrant responded, “Officer, is a lighter me throw there”. The officer questioned him further and Durrant said, “Officer, is a bag of weed”. Peters told Durrant that what he observed did not look like a bag of weed.

Durrant said, “Officer, let me don’t waste your time. Is a gun”. Durrant retrieved what appeared to be a firearm and handed it over to the Police Constable who observed that the firearm appeared to be a .25 pistol with an unknown serial number, and that it did not have a magazine. Peters pointed out the offence to Durrant and cautioned him in the presence of another police officer.

Durrant told the officers, “Is find I find it…”. The young man was arrested and taken to the Central Police Station. A check at the Firearms Registry showed that Durrant is not the holder of a license for a firearm. Durrant, therefore, was charged for the offence of possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Lawyer, Grant Connell, who represented Durrant, mitigated on his behalf. He told the court that his client voluntarily surrendered the firearm; that the teenager is of good character; and showed genuine remorse for his actions. Connell also referred to Durrant’s lack of maturity considering his age; and that he assisted the authorities in the matter.

One aggravating factor noted was the prevalence of gun related crimes in the country.

Connell also alluded to a section in the sentencing guidelines which speaks against the criminalisation of children. A social inquiry report presented to the court indicated that the teenager was unsuccessful in the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment.

“Jaheem repeated form one and two. [He] left school while in form two at age 16, following the death of his father,” the report stated.

Connell said that Durrant does not seem to be “a hardened criminal,” and so a suspended sentence will be a sufficient punishment for the teen.

“[He is] in need of a counsellor and job. Sending him to prison will have a corrosive effect on him,” Connell continued, adding that Durrant is just one of the many young men who have gone “slightly off track.”

Connell said as well that he has seen young men worse that Durrant go into the army and return as unbelievably better men, and that while he agrees that harsher sentences should be imposed for gun crimes, “jail is not always going to fix society”.

Senior Magistrate John who shared similar sentiments with Connell, noted that the sentencing guidelines suggest that “Imprisonment should be the last resort [for children under 18] for which a sanction can be…[imposed.]”

John handed Durrant a one year suspended sentence. He also ordered Durrant to work at the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force garage every Monday and Tuesday between 10:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m. Durrant was also ordered to join a Police Youth Club. A written report must be submitted to the magistrate on June 1,2024, on Durrant’s conduct at these activities.