Lawyer urges court to impose time served on client for gun and ammunition offences

Defense counsel Mohia Ma’at on Friday urged the High Court to impose a sentence of time served on his client who has been convicted of gun and ammunition offences.

Meanwhile the prosecutor Senior Crown Counsel Oliver Davis is asking Justice Randall Worrell, who presides over the No. 2 Supreme Court, to impose a starting sentence of nine years in prison on Rodney Ricardo Matthew, of Bynoe Road, Worthing View, Christ Church.

The submissions were made during a virtual sitting of the court.

Mathew had previously pleaded guilty before Justice Worrell to the charge of having a .38 revolver in his possession on June 28, 2010 when he did not have a valid licence.

He also admitted to having, on the same date, 53 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit.

The illegal items were discovered when lawmen executed a search at his residence.

Mitigating on Matthew’s behalf, Ma’at said the father of three had expressed “great remorse” for the offences and was gainfully employed as a taxi driver.

The lawyer asked the court to look at the fact that Matthew had spent a “significant amount of time” on remand at HMP Dodds.

“We understand that it is a serious offence relative to a firearm,” Ma’at said, adding that mitigating in his client’s favour was the fact that he had indicated from the inception his intention to plead guilty to the charges and had not wasted the court’s time nor resources.

He said given those mitigating factors, “We are asking for time served.”

The lawyer added: “He has indicated as well that he is not in a position to pay a fine if the court was likely to take that direction but the time that he spent on remand is indeed quite lengthy and could indeed be considered as a sentence for the offences.”

In her submissions Davis pointed to the aggravating features of the cases – the possession of the weapon and the quantity of ammunition.

“There was no evidence of use [of the weapon].The accused indicated that he had the items for financial gain. The number of rounds of ammunition supports the story of the possession for financial gain,” she said.

Going in Matthew’s favour, the prosecutor added, was his cooperation with the police, his guilty plea and the fact that the weapon and bullets were recovered.

“The Crown submits that a starting point of nine years will be appropriate for this offence,” Davis stated and further submitted that the convicted man should be credited with the one third discount for his guilty plea and the time he had spent on remand.

Matthew, who is currently on bail, will reappear before Justice Worrell next week when the time he spent on remand at Dodds is expected to be disclosed.