The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to five years in prison for possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition on Thursday.

Jachris Black, 22, pleaded guilty to the two charges when he appeared in Magistrate's Court alongside his 53-year-old mother, Julianne Black.

According to police reports, a team of officers from the Elizabeth Estates Police Station, acting on information, travelled to the pair's home and presented a warrant to search the premises. Once in the home, officers were directed to Mr Black's bedroom, where they discovered an AK-47 assault rifle and a detached magazine loaded with 28 rounds in a hamper.

Officers arrested both occupants and charged the pair with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

When the pair appeared in court on Thursday, Mrs Black had to be assisted by police officers after she indicated that she could not breathe. As the arraignment proceeded, she briefly fainted due to her condition, leading the court room to be cleared so that she could be attended to.

Once the proceedings resumed, Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt scolded Black for his actions.

Recalling the details of the entire case as presented by the prosecution, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said the matter could not be taken lightly due to the escalating nature of gun violence in the country.

As she noted the defendant's prior crimes, an assault charge from 2016, Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told Mr Black that his actions stood as proof that he had not learned any valuable lessons from his recent brushes with the law.

She added that this most recent offence proved to be the most extreme in nature and the most disheartening in type because of the precarious position in which it placed his mother.

She told the defendant: "You pulled your mother with you, caused her unnecessary pain and anguish. She had to bear shame and embarrassment."

Mr Black was subsequently sentenced to two five-year terms to run concurrently and made to offer a public apology to his mother in court.

Ms Black, after hearing and accepting her son's apology, was acquitted on both charges and released after being processed.