A young man convicted of firearm and ammunition offences has been spared further jail time but ordered to pay more than $26 000 in fines following a High Court sentencing.
Justice Pamela Beckles ordered Rashawn Renaldo Rogers to pay the fines for illegally possessing a firearm and 13 rounds of ammunition almost four years ago.
“It hurts my heart because that money could have been a down payment on a car or a house, but you chose to pay it into the court as a fine. Hopefully, you will learn from this experience and don’t come back,” Justice Beckles said from the bench in the No. 5 Supreme Court
Rogers was sentenced for having an unlicensed .45 calibre Glock semi-automatic pistol and 13 rounds of ammunition on July 26, 2022.
Saying that firearm offences continue to pose severe threats to public safety, the judge explained that courts analyse culpability, harm, weapon type and intent, and balance these against mitigating circumstances in determining an appropriate sentence.
“The purpose of any sentencing usually focuses on deterrence, both general and specific, public protection, and punitive measures,” she said.
The judge considered the nature and gravity of the offence, that the gun was a real firearm loaded with live rounds, the prevalence of such offences in society, the defendant’s attempts to conceal the weapon in a shed and evade capture by fleeing police, and reached an eight-year starting point for the firearm and a six-year starting point for the ammunition.
With regards to the first-time offender, his early guilty plea, relative youthfulness at the time of the offence as he was 20 at the time of the offence, and being deemed at low risk of reoffending, outweighed the aggravating factors and led to a two-year reduction from each starting point.
After applying sentence discounts and accounting for 374 days spent on remand, Rogers was left to serve 1 093 days for the firearm and 599 days for the ammunition.
Justice Beckles said: “In keeping with the practice of these courts for first-time offences with a favourable pre-sentencing report and who have taken steps at rehabilitating and reintegrating positively back into society, I will substitute the balance of your time with a substantial fine which should meet justice in this case.”
She ordered him to pay $20 000 for the firearm, $9 000 of which was immediately due and another $1 000 by March 26. The balance is to be settled within six months.
He was also fined $6 500 for the ammunition, payable by December 17. Failure to pay will result in Rogers serving the remainder of his sentence.
Justice Beckles warned Rogers: “As the law stands right now, if you come back before the court on another firearm offence and you plead guilty to it or are found guilty of it, it is automatic imprisonment. There is no chance to pay a fine or anything like that, understand that. I have spoken to you already. I do believe that you accept the foolishness of your ways, and you will try to fly on the straight and narrow, and you have your family there to support you. I wish you all the best.”
The court heard that police, acting on a tip-off, went to Rogers’ house, where an officer saw him exiting the back door with a white shopping bag. The accused entered a wooden shed and came out a few seconds later empty-handed. He then ran through the yard and back gate into an alley, where he was held by a constable.
The accused was taken back to the shed, and a black firearm was found when the shopping bag was opened. Rogers told the officer: “That gun is mine.”
Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim and attorney Kristin Vanderpool represented Rogers, while Senior State Counsel Kevin Forde prosecuted the case.
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