Making clear that the court will play its role in discouraging the trafficking of guns into this island, no matter the players, a judge stressed that Barbadians must recognise that average people are involved in the act.
Justice Laurie-Anne Smith-Bovell said in the No. 4 Supreme Court that some people only sought to place the blame for guns entering the country on those living in the “heights and terraces”.
“In the public domain, we hear members of society crying out and asking: ‘Where are the guns coming from? How are they getting into Barbados?’ Some people blame persons in the heights and terraces and make reference to big players in society who are untouchable, failing or unwilling to recognise that it is the ordinary citizen who is involved in gun trafficking.
“The courts have to play their role in deterring persons, whether big or small, from importing guns for financial gain. Guns are wreaking havoc on our society, killing not only gang members embroiled in gang wars, but also innocent children who go to watch netball at a community hard court or a young man sitting in his patio just relaxing.”
She was speaking during the sentencing of Dario Davone Daone Oliver of Wotton, and Jason Antonio Barrow of Lodge Road, both of Christ Church, on firearms and ammunition convictions.
Oliver imported five firearms between August 1 and 8, 2018: a .50 AE Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistol and four 9 mm calibre Taurus semi-automatic pistols — without valid licences — and seven rounds of ammunition without a valid permit.
He and Barrow admitted having the firearms and ammunition in their possession without the requisite licences and permits on August 8.
Oliver was sentenced to spend eight years and 50 days for his ten firearm offences and ten days for the ammunition offences, while Barrow was ordered to serve four years and 301 days for the firearm possession offences and 301 days for his ammunition offence.
Justice Smith-Bovell outlined several aggravating factors to the offences, including the number and high calibre of the weapons, which were all in good working order, and the erasure of the serial numbers on the firearms making tracing impossible; the prevalence of the offence of possession and use of illegal firearms in society; the importation which indicates that they were intended for unlawful use by individuals; that the offences were done for financial gain; that planning was involved; and that the person for whom the firearms were imported was not identified.
The lone mitigating factor for both was that the guns were recovered.
“For Barrow, a mitigating factor is the fact that he played no role in the importation and was charged for possession in that he was just going to assist with clearing the barrels from the port. He was not part of the master plan, and there was no evidence that he was going to gain financially,” said the judge, giving him a ten-year starting sentence for the offences.
She determined that a 15‑year starting sentence was appropriate for Oliver, despite his status as a first‑time offender, basing the decision on the quantity and calibre of the weapons imported.
Each man was also given a five‑year starting sentence for the ammunition possession.
Justice Smith-Bovell continued: “The court also acknowledges its role to have as a serious consideration the rehabilitation of the offender, and the court did take that into consideration with respect to the two now convicted men.
“However, the court has an equally important role to consider, which is that of deterrence, and given the scourge of illegal firearms in society, the need to protect society is an overriding consideration for the court when it comes to importation of illegal firearms, and a custodial sentence must be imposed to send a message to society that the illegal importation of firearms will be dealt with harshly in an effort to stamp out the practice.”
A one-fifth discount was granted for their guilty pleas, which came after the trial commenced, and further deductions were granted for mitigating factors, time spent on remand, and delay.
Saying that all sentences were to run concurrently, Justice Smith-Bovell also ordered them to participate in any vocational, skills, and educational programmes available and to undergo a drug treatment programme whilst at Dodds Prison.
The court heard that the two went to the Bridgetown Port to collect two barrels listed as containing personal effects from the United States. When the containers were brought into the examination room, customs officers asked Oliver to remove the contents, during which two yellow bags marked ‘Domino Sugar’ were seen and appeared to have solid objects inside.
They were opened, and the disassembled firearms were discovered along with the ammunition.
Police were called in. Oliver told officers: “A man send me to collect some guns, but I didn’t know it was so many.”
When Barrow was asked, he stated: “I come to help Dario clear the guns.”
Speaking to the court before sentencing, Oliver said that he had experienced two strokes in 2022, which had left him with a different outlook on life and closer to God.
“It is nerve‑wracking to see the state of the country. It saddens me to know that if those firearms had made it on the street, they could have affected my family,” he said, adding that there were a lot of young men in prison who were lost and needed help.
Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens represented Oliver, while Barrow’s attorney was Neville Reid. The matter was prosecuted by Acting Director of Public Prosecution Alliston Seale SC and State Counsel Paul Prescod.
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