By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday after he admitted to having a banned assault rifle near his home on Wilson Tract last week.
Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Rosemond Etienne, 27, with possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of ammunition.
Alphonso Lewis and Levan Johnson represented the accused.
Etienne was arrested after police found a black Serbian AK-47, along with 21 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, wrapped in a blue cloth in a derelict minivan near his house on March 19.
After the defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, Mr Lewis stated in mitigation that his client was remorseful for his actions and had cooperated with police from the onset.
The attorney went on to say that Etienne pleaded guilty early at the earliest opportunity to spare the court's time and that he is also an employed father. Mr Lewis implored the magistrate to temper justice with mercy and asked for leniency in Etienne’s sentencing.
Magistrate Coleby ordered that the defendant serve 48 months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services during which time he will be enrolled in plumbing and electrical classes.
Before being taken into remand the defendant was allowed a short time with relatives who were present in court.
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