By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Court Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
THREE men and a woman were charged in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday with possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition.
However, one of the men pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).
Darius Hall, 21, Kevin Colebrook, 27, Damatto Deveaux, 31, and Tanahja Dean, 21, all represented by Attorney Lennox Coleby faced Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on three charges. These included possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of ammunition and possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.
According to a police report at around 1.35am on August 7, officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Eighth Street, Coconut Grove, in search of drugs and firearms.
After Hall allowed officers into his home, they discovered a firearm inside a Nike bag behind his bedroom door. This was identified as a prohibited .40 Glock pistol, with 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Police also uncovered suspected drugs, with 38 plastic baggies containing a grassy substance in the same bedroom and another 40 baggies of the same substance in his living room. These were later identified as Indian Hemp with a collective weight of 8lbs. The drugs had an estimated street value of $4,500.
In a police interview, Hall gave a no comment response. However, in court Hall was the only accused to plead guilty to all three charges, with the remaining three pleading not guilty to their respective charges.
As there were no objections, Colebrook, Deveaux and Dean were granted bail in the sum of $7,500 with one or two sureties. Under the conditions of their bail all three accused are to be fitted with a monitoring device.
During attorney Coleby’s plea of mitigation on Hall’s behalf, he said that his young client has no antecedents and is capable of rehabilitation. Mr Coleby went on to say that Hall was the father of a one-year-old child and implored the court not to separate the two for more than two years.
The attorney then pointed out that his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and being remorseful for actions that he described as a one-off situation as a reason for the magistrate to only impose a maximum sentence of 16 months to two years on Hall.
The magistrate sentenced him to two years at BDCS for the gun charge with another one-year sentence for the ammunition charge to be served concurrently. Hall is further expected to pay an $8,000 fine for the drug charge or risk an additional one-year in custody.
The firearms and drugs were to be destroyed.
Hall thanked the magistrate for her leniency.
The remaining three will go to trial on October 28.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.