Offender facing another year in prison if he misses fine stipulations

Vigilante justice must be stamped out!

With those words, Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell fined Kadeem O’Brien Clarke $15 000 for having an illegal firearm and three rounds of ammunition more than four years ago.

Clarke, who was 17 at the time of the incident, returned on Thursday to the No. 4 Supreme Court for sentencing. He previously pleaded guilty to having a .25 semi-automatic pistol and three rounds of ammunition on May 14, 2017.

He told police he got the firearm to defend himself because he was “tired of being unfaired”.

However, in handing down her sentence, Justice Smith-Bovell contended that people could not take the law into their own hands.

“The court needs to send the message that vigilante justice is not to be tolerated and needs to be stamped out,” she said.

The judge admitted that Clarke’s situation was a “special circumstance” and, therefore, did not require a custodial sentence.

She said there was no evidence the firearm had been used although it had been found in a public place, and also pointed to the fact that Clarke had one previous conviction for drug possession.

Justice Smith-Bovell said Clarke’s early guilty plea and his full cooperation with police had also been taken into consideration.

In pointing to the aggravating factors, she said the .25 semi-automatic pistol was a dangerous weapon and was found to be in good working condition capable of firing several rounds of ammunition in rapid succession.

She said the fact it contained three rounds of ammunition made it more of a threat to the public.

The judge also maintained that in the current climate, the prevalence and use of illegal firearms had to be stamped out.

Justice Smith-Bovell said she had considered a starting point of eight years for the firearm offence. However, a deduction of two years was given because of the mitigating factors, a one-third deduction was given because of the early guilty plea, and the 1 076 days spent on remand were also deducted, leaving a sentence of one year and 19 days.

The High Court judge fined Clarke $15 000 for the firearm and ordered him to pay $10 000 forthwith, with the balance to be paid in three months or he would spend the one year and 19 days in prison.

She also fined him $5 000 payable in three months for the ammunition or he will spend one year in prison.

The court had heard that Clarke was attending a party at Pirate’s Cove where he was stopped and searched by security guards on duty. During the search, the firearm and ammunition were discovered.