The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Court Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting having a loaded gun in his car over the weekend.

Carlo Pierre, 30, and a 17-year-old male defendant, stood before Senior Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis. They faced a charge of possession of an unlicencsed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Around 1:10am on February 12 on Providence Avenue, officers stopped Pierre in his blue Hyundai Elantra. The defendants were then arrested after a black Glock 19 9mm pistol with a defaced serial number was uncovered in the car. Pierre told the magistrate he willingly pointed the gun out to officers. The confiscated weapon is said to have been found with ten unfired rounds of 9mm ammunition.

In a subsequent police interview, Pierre admitted to ownership of the gun and said he had it for his own protection.

In court, Pierre pleaded guilty to the offence while his juvenile co-accused pleaded not guilty.

In view of Pierre admitting to the offence, the charges against the teenager were officially dropped.

Pierre went on to tell the magistrate that it was a mistake travelling with the gun in his car. In addition to asking for leniency, he said he got the weapon from “a friend of a friend of a friend” after claiming to have been shot in 2020.

The prosecution told Magistrate Rolle Davis that Pierre had a previous ammunition conviction.

Taking into consideration his early plea of guilt, the magistrate sentenced Pierre to two years in prison for the firearm and ammunition charges, to be served concurrently.

Before being taken into custody, the accused was informed of his right to appeal sentencing within seven days.