The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A WARRANT of apprehension was issued by the Court of Appeal yesterday for a man the court ruled should not have been conditionally discharged for his crimes of possession of an unlicensed firearm and a large quantity of ammunition.

Brian Botham, 48, was sentenced in his absence to three years imprisonment for the possession of a 9mm handgun and five years for the near 400 rounds of ammunition found at his home on June 25, 2012.

And while the appellate court commended lawyer Kwasi Thompson for not withholding information of his client’s intent to not appear for the court’s decision, the judges granted Crown prosecutor Anishka Hanchell’s request for a warrant of apprehension to be issued.

The concurrent sentences for the owner of the recently-closed Redbeard’s Pub in Freeport, Grand Bahama, will begin once he surrenders himself to custody or if he is arrested.

“As a result of the finding by this court that the magistrate’s decision was unreasonable and thereby allowing the appeal, the court was bound to convict the respondent and sentence him accordingly,” Justice Jon Isaacs said in rendering the court’s ruling.

“While a magistrate is entitled to pass any sentence authorised by law in respect of offences for which a person is convicted, in the present case the magistrate’s decision to conditionally discharge the respondent failed to give regard to the effect of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 2014. That Act envisioned the disposition of Parliament towards firearm related offences. She also failed to give due consideration to a fundamental sentencing principle, namely, deterrence and seriousness of offences,” the court added.

Three days after the discovery, Botham, his wife, and a minor were charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition with intent to supply.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges and Botham was granted $10,000 bail with one surety while his wife and the juvenile were granted $9,000 cash bail.

The matter was adjourned to August 23 and 24 of that year for trial which continued up until June of this year when the 48-year-old opted to change his plea before the prosecution’s last witness could be called.

After his lawyer made a plea in mitigation on his behalf and called a character witness, the magistrate granted a conditional discharge on the basis that he pay a collective $8,000 donation to the Grand Bahama Home for the Aged and the Good Samaritan Home in New Providence. He was further ordered to exhibit good behaviour for two years failing which he would spend 18 months in prison.

The Crown, however, filed an appeal against the sentence given the late entry of the guilty plea, the amount of ammunition involved, the age of the respondent and the need for deterring other individuals from committing similar crimes.

Mr Thompson countered that the magistrate had the discretion in law to impose the sentence that she did and that leniency did not warrant interference with said discretion unless the magistrate was wrong in principle.

Justices Anita Allen, Isaacs and Stella Crane-Scott, however, were not of the view that the magistrate considered all sentencing principles including deterrence and seriousness of the offence.

As for the $8,000 Botham was ordered to pay, the court ruled that “the money ordered to be paid, and already paid, to the charities was made without jurisdiction and ought to be returned to the respondent.”