Judge confused about youngsters’ fascination with having firearms

The “morbid and deadly” fascination some young men and women in Barbados have with guns remains “a mystery” to High Court judge Christopher Birch.

Handing down a sentence of $15 000 in fines on Donte Tyrelle Alleyne, who pleaded guilty to possession of a .22 pistol and six rounds of ammunition, Justice Birch said on Friday that he was amazed at how some young people were walking around with firearms as if Barbados was a war zone.

“I don’t think that I really need to rehash the impact that illegal firearms have had on our society. Suffice it to say that over a hundred people in the last five years now lie in cemeteries because of the use of illegal firearms,” he added.

“It is a mystery as to why people in this country, normally a peaceful law abiding country, see fit to arm themselves. The majority of persons go about their business daily without having to resort to carry any form of weaponry and it will remain a mystery as to why young men and some young women have a morbid and deadly fascination with guns.”

Justice Birch, who presides over Supreme Court No. 5a, also reiterated that there was no right to bear arms in Barbados and “given that that is our state of play, I always feel amazed that young men and some young women deem it fit to walk around our landscape armed as though they are in a war zone, because they are not.”

“You can have no lawful excuse for having a firearm in your possession. You are not a member of the security forces, you are not a member of a competitive shooting club. So why would you feel the need to have a firearm and ammunition in your possession?” he asked Alleyne, a resident of Downhill Drive, Eden Lodge, St Michael.

The judge told the convicted man, who took responsibility for the May 13, 2019 offence, that based on the facts it could be inferred that he had an intention to use the illegal weapon. He pointed to the fact that the gun was not only loaded but that Alleyne ran away when he encountered lawmen.

He said Alleyne, who was 18 years old when he committed the crime, knew or ought to have known that he was in possession of an item he had no right to have.

“At 18, you should know right from wrong and you clearly knew that what you were doing was wrong because you ran away when you were confronted; you did not surrender,” the judge said. “It was not a toy, it was a working firearm, ready to go. All it needed was a few pounds of pressure on the trigger.”

Taking into account the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case, including that Alleyne had no prior convictions, had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had spent some two years on remand, Justice Birch imposed a $10 000 fine for the firearm possession offence and a further $5 000 for the ammunition. The fines are due to be paid in nine months.

If payment is not made, the alternative is a starting sentence of seven years in prison minus legal deductions, which would see Alleyne spending 40 months behind bars.

“Take this not only as a punishment but as redemption,” Justice Birch told the young man who was represented by attorney-at-law Latisha Springer. “Do not come back before these courts for any reason.”

Alleyne’s case was prosecuted by Crown Counsel Joyann Catwell.