BDF footballer may be spared jail sentence over arms charge

A St Michael man who was all but set to take up a football scholarship before he was held with an illegal firearm and ammunition should not be held in prison at HMP Dodds any further, both prosecuting and defence attorneys agreed Wednesday.

When he appeared before Justice Randall Worrell in the No. 2 Supreme Court, Ranaldo Sanato Trim, of 3rd Avenue, Licorish Village, My Lord’s Hill, pleaded guilty to having a .38 revolver and one round of ammunition in his possession on May 19, 2020.

But both his lawyer Angela Mitchell-Gittens and prosecutor Crown Counsel Romario Straker agreed that Trim’s situation was an exceptional circumstance that did not require imprisonment.

The court head that Trim, a member of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) sports programme, was apprehended by police acting on information received. He was taken from the BDF to the District ‘A’ Police Station where he told officers that the firearm being sought was in his vehicle at the Garrison.

He was taken to the Garrison and a search was conducted. The firearm and ammunition were discovered in the trunk of his vehicle.

In an apology to the court, Trim said he had found himself in the situation because of someone he considered a friend.

He said he had lost out on opportunities because of his arrest.

“It was a mistake and I would like to put it behind me and get back on the right path. It was an honest mistake,” Trim said.

His counsel, Mitchell-Gittens, told the court the firearm had been used by another person who tried to hide it at Trim’s home.

She said after Trim found it, he could not decide what to do with it and put it in his trunk.

Mitchell-Gittens said he had not used the firearm and had no intention to do so.

She said the first-time offender was “not the average person” to come before the court.

Trim had already paid dearly for his actions, the lawyer told the court.

“He was a member of the national football team and had been awarded a scholarship,” Mitchell-Gittens said. “He has lost a lot and I only hope he can pick back up those opportunities. He has lost his job as a member of the BDF and the opportunity to become the next Messi or Ronaldo. He was about to take off and do great things with his life.

“He is an exceptional young man who was on the right path but got a little derailed. We hope he can put it behind him.”

She pointed out that Trim’s guilty plea had come at the earliest possible opportunity and he had asked to be indicted as early as possible.

Mitchell-Gittens asked the court to consider not further incarcerating Trim, who has been on remand since being charged.

Crown Counsel Straker acknowledged that while custodial sentences should be considered in most firearm-related cases, he conceded that Trim’s was an “exceptional circumstance”.

But he said the firearm had been used in a prior shooting incident and if Trim was aware of that, it should be seen as an aggravating factor.

Straker maintained that illegal firearms were a “plague to society” and there was a need for the court to treat such matters seriously. He said the court could not be seen as imposing sentences that were “a slap on the wrist”.

The prosecutor told the court he took into consideration the fact that the firearm had been deemed to be faulty and that Trim had only been caught with one round of ammunition.

Taking those factors into consideration, Straker suggested that Trim be made to pay $10 000 for having the illegal firearm and $1 500 for the one round of ammunition.

Justice Worrell agreed that the incident had happened to Trim at “the worst possible time”.

He ordered a pre-sentencing report and adjourned the matter until September 24.