Gunman who pointed ‘fierce looking’ gun at police gets 15 years

High Court Judge Carlisle Greaves has handed down the maximum 15-year sentence on a gunman who brandished an “ugly”, “fierce-looking” and “extremely dangerous and lethal weapon” while fleeing from police seven years ago.

“These courts by their sentences must establish in the minds of… gunmen strong deterrents. Drop your guns!” Justice Greaves declared Tuesday as he sentenced Bryan Oneal Small to 15 years and his accomplice Jason Omar Morgan to five years in prison.

After pleading not guilty, Small, of Martin’s Road, Pinelands and Morgan, of Garlow Path, Waterford went on trial before a jury last November on a joint charge of having possession of articles for use in the course of or in connection with theft, namely a pair of gloves, two ski masks and a torch.

Small had separate charges of possession of a semi-automatic pistol without a valid licence and 10 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit. They were found guilty by unanimous verdict in December.

During the trial prosecuted by Senior Crown Counsel Neville Watson, the court heard that police went on an operation at the nearby industrial park near the Grantley Adams International Airport where they saw the two men sitting in a car. When they saw the officers approaching they sped off in the motor car driven by Morgan.

A chase ensued down the ABC Highway in a westerly direction ending in the vicinity of Lower Greys when the vehicle hit an embankment, flipped on its top and skidded to a stop.

The two crawled out and fled, jumping a chain-link fence of a neighbouring home. During that time police in pursuit observed Small carrying a firearm in his hand.

He pointed the gun at police officers but it did not fire. Officers fired at both fleeing men, felling them. They were both taken to the hospital.

In their defence, the convicted men, who were not represented at trial by an attorney, but had Andrew Pilgrim Q.C as their lawyer during the sentencing, alleged that they fled because the police shot at them in the airport parking lot. They claimed the gun was planted by police and that did not have articles for theft.

As he sentenced Small, Justice Greaves said he considered the firearm an “extremely dangerous and lethal one indeed.”

He said: “It is described as a 9mm Luger Tec DC9. A closer look reveals breather or air holes along the outer casing surrounding the barrel like a submachine gun. It had fitted to it an extended magazine with ten rounds of ammunition in it, but said to be capable of carrying about 50.

“The sight of this large ugly type of a firearm is likely to shock you before it shoots you. No man should be illegally carrying around such a weapon in this country.

“What possible use could any man want with that firearm with its extended magazine and all. In this age of mass killings and the sort. The thoughts of its potential are shuddering.

“Given that in addition to this fierce-looking lethal firearm and the other equipment they were carrying what could be expected of their reaction if confronted needs no speculation. The thoughts of the possible carnage that could possibly follow this particular firearm is shuddering”.

Pointing to the aggravating factors of Small’s offences, the judge stated that he was not only armed but “lingering with it” in the precincts of or adjacent to the islands international airport.

“ An area that common sense dictates should be seen as a prohibited area, in the company of another man, both in possession of ski masks and thick gloves when it was not yet the COVID masks era. The question is what in the world would he or they be up to like that?

“What effect would he or they may have had on this country if he or they found themselves in a situation considered necessary to make use of the firearm.

“Furthermore, the accused’s determination, it seems by any means necessary, to deny apprehension of himself and his dispossession of the firearm was such a strong factor that they sped with it along the most busy highway in Barbados, leading westward from the airport, according to the evidence swerving in and out sometimes against the traffic… and in my opinion endangering the lives and limbs of innocent citizens. In my opinion, these factors are powerful aggravating factors.

“In addition they never stopped until they crashed and toppled over, again raising the risk to innocent citizens. They fled over a fence into the yard of a citizen with Mr Small carrying this firearm in hand. Again raising the risk to innocent citizens.

“This is further evidenced by the police finding it necessary to fire shots into the compound to bring them to a stop when in addition he Mr Small, according to the evidence, turned and pointed that firearm towards some police officers.

“Why it did not fire is not known to this court and this court will not speculate about that. However, these are actions done by him or caused by him to be done that  further exposed to violent injury innocent citizens, the police or himself and his accomplice.”

Declaring that his sentence had no bearing on Saturday’s slaying of a police officer in the line of duty because his judgment had already been written and submitted to lawyers on both sides,  the judge said: “This jurisdiction has a long history of police officers being shot and sometimes even killed by fleeing gunmen determined to keep their illegal firearms.

He pointed to some cases including  PC Marlon Marville in 1990, in New Orleans; Dexter Yarde in 2004 at Holetown, Shane Newton in 2016 in St Thomas; and Steve Brathwaite in 2020 in St John.

“These courts by their sentences must establish in the minds of our gunmen strong deterrents. Drop your guns.

“Today we can only commend those police officers and or some other greater force that we are speaking of a sentence after a trial in this case and not a funeral or some funerals.”

He added: “Those who contribute to the scourge of firearms in this jurisdiction and their carnage must be convinced by these courts that they seriously jeopardize their liberty when they choose to possess and or use them.

“This is an apt case given its circumstances to stamp that in their minds.”

He sentenced Small to 15 years imprisonment for the possession of the firearm; ten years imprisonment for the possession of the ammunition and five years imprisonment for going equipped. Sentences will run concurrently. That’s less the 1,416 days he had already spent on remand.

Morgan was sentenced to five years less the 176 days already spent on remand for the offence of equipped..” I think you have been fortunate not to have been indicted for the joint possession of the firearm and ammunition, on a joint enterprise basis, as an aider and assister, if not an encourager and abettor,” Justice Greaves told him.