A Lower Westbury Road man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after the court found his explanation for possessing two firearms and a large quantity of ammunition highly implausible.
Justice Laurie-Anne Smith-Bovell said that it was logical to infer that Carl Edgar Knight was likely trading in or renting out firearms and supplying ammunition, or holding them for another person, as she sentenced him to serve over seven years at Dodds Prison for the illegal possession of the weapons.
Knight, of Knight’s Land, Lower Westbury Road, previously pleaded guilty in the No. 4 Supreme Court to unlawfully having a 7.62 x 32 calibre rifle, a 9 mm Luger semi-automatic pistol, and 120 rounds of ammunition on April 1, 2022, telling the court that he had found the items on two separate occasions.
As Justice Smith-Bovell sentenced Knight, she said: “The court finds the now convicted man’s account of walking along a pasture on two occasions and just finding firearms and ammunition lying around as highly unlikely to be true and the court is of the view that a logical inference could be drawn from these facts that given the quantity of the ammunition and the two firearms that the now convicted man had in his possession, that he more than likely was holding these items for someone or was trading in or renting out the firearms and selling ammunition. There appears to be no other reasonable explanation for being in possession of such a large volume of ammunition and two firearms.”
She identified several aggravating factors regarding the offence, including that the weapons were high-powered and capable of firing multiple rounds of ammunition in rapid succession, the large quantity of ammunition, which suggested that he was a supplier, his decision to keep the firearms he told police he had found, and the prevalence of such offences in society.
“The court is of the opinion that when the Court of Appeal was considering their guidelines for possession of firearms some 24 years ago, they were not contemplating a circumstance where people were in possession of multiple firearms at the same time, nor were they taking into account the calibre of firearms that are now being found in society.”
The judge then gave starting points of 13 years, 10 years and 12 years for his possession of the rifle, the Luger pistol and 120 rounds of ammunition, respectively.
Each starting point was reduced by one year for Knight’s lack of previous convictions and remorse, before deductions were made for his early admission of guilt and 117 days on remand.
Knight was then sentenced to seven years and 248 days for the rifle, five years and 248 days for the pistol, and seven years for the ammunition, all to run concurrently.
Justice Smith-Bovell also ordered that he undergo drug treatment and engage in educational and vocational training programmes.
During the execution of a search warrant at Knight’s home, Anti-Gun Unit officers heard sounds coming from the ground floor and discovered him in a bathroom, the court heard. A further search of a storage space beneath the stairs yielded a plastic bag containing several smaller packets of ammunition. When asked about the items, Knight admitted: “I find all dem tings. I put dem there. Dem is mines.”
Police continued their search, which led to the recovery of a pistol equipped with an empty extended magazine, a rifle, and an additional magazine.
In a written statement, Knight claimed that during the previous year, he had been walking in the Grazettes area when he noticed a black duffel bag that “looked out of place”. He told police that upon opening it, he observed “a big gun” and thought it was “real funny being there”, before taking the bag home and storing the ammunition found inside.
Regarding the pistol, he alleged that he had “kicked” it while crossing the pasture at Brandons. He said he retrieved the “small handgun”, which had been wrapped in yellow tissue, and kept it alongside the rifle.
(JB)
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