Man avoids prison after picking up firearm magazine

A father of two was spared a five-year prison sentence when he pleaded guilty to being in possession of a firearm magazine.

Dwight Crawford, 29, pleaded guilty to being in possession of an assorted part of a prohibited weapon, breaching Section 13 (3) of the Firearm Acts (2022). The act states that, "No person shall possess any assorted part for a prohibited weapon or, without the appropriate firearm authorisation, possess any assorted part for a firearm". Section 4 of the Act states further, "A person who contravenes subsection 3, shall be liable, on conviction therefore before a Parish Court, to a fine not exceeding five million dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque, in keeping with the judicial guidelines, imposed a fine of $60,000 or six months' imprisonment. The judge took into account a short plea mitigation by attorney-at-law Yanique Watson, who asked the judge not to imprison Crawford.

"Your Honour, he is a man of good character and in relation to this offence, he is sorry for picking up the item. His account of the incident is that he found the item along the roadside. He stopped on the roadside to do something ... and that's when he picked it up. It was the same time the police arrived and Your Honour, he did not resist arrest and took full responsibility at the earliest occasion," Watson submitted. The lawyer added that Crawford has been in custody since March 3 and opined that he can benefit from rehabilitation.

Judge Cole-Montaque, in accepting Watson's submission, said Crawford is not beyond redemption and imposed the fine, rather than a custodial sentence.