A convicted man has avoided almost four more years in prison after paying $35 000 in immediate fines for having an illegal firearm, ammunition and cannabis.
Livardo Rogelio Hinds was spared a custodial sentence after a High Court judge, noting his medical condition and guilty plea, ordered that he pay substantial penalties on the spot instead of serving the remaining prison term.
Justice Elwood Watts handed down the ruling in the No. 2A Supreme Court after Hinds offered apologies and threw himself at the mercy of the court for having an unlicensed firearm and 26 rounds of ammunition on July 6, 2024. He also admitted to having 1.09 kilogrammes of cannabis.
“I apologise for my actions. I would like the court to give me a chance to use my experience to interact with the youth and help people get off the blocks and do something positive in society because they are our future,” Hinds pleaded.
Justice Watts reached a starting point of eight years for both the firearm and ammunition, saying that the quantity of bullets, which were in an extended magazine, and the convicted man’s previous convictions were aggravating factors, while mitigating factors were his early admission of guilt and cooperation with the police.
After discounts were given for his guilty plea and 512 days on remand, Hinds was left with a custodial sentence of three years 339 days for the firearm and ammunition charges, to run concurrently.
“Possession of a firearm in this climate ought to be an automatic custodial sentence, especially in your case as you do not come to this court with an unblemished record…I do not think that firearms are carried around like some sort of ornamentation like a gold chain around the neck,” the judge stated.
Noting, however, the convicted man’s medical challenges and the fact that both the prosecution and defence agreed that a custodial sentence not be imposed, Justice Watts ordered Hinds to pay $20 000 for the gun and $13 000 for the ammunition or be jailed.
The judge also instructed him to pay $2 000 for the cannabis or serve 18 months.
All of the fines were due immediately and were paid.
State Counsel Dr Zoe King prosecuted the case, while defence attorney Shadia Simpson represented Hinds.
Police were executing a search warrant at a Glendairy Road, Bridge Road, St Michael, home, the court heard. They found Hinds sitting on a sofa in the living room and observed a brown wooden clothes basket next to him with a blue and black shopping bag inside.
A search of the bag revealed four transparent bags with vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis. When the bag was removed, a firearm – a 9mm Luger calibre semi-automatic pistol – with an extended magazine attached was in the basket, along with a ski mask and a firearm holder. Hinds initially denied possession and knowledge of the gun but told officers the cannabis was his.
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