A judge on Friday hit a gunman with one of the stiffest fines to date – $52 500 – as she warned that the court would not tolerate the possession of illegal firearms for “any reason whatsoever”.
“The court’s sentence must serve to deter members of society from acquiring illegal firearms for whatever reason,” Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell said as she passed sentence on Airy Hill, St Joseph resident George Biscette who was involved in a shooting on November 6, 2016 that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Shaquone Maycock.
Biscette had previously been charged with murder but his attorney, Safiya Moore, in her submissions urged the judge not to take into consideration, when determining the sentence, “what use was made of the firearm because the State had not proceeded with the charge that arose out of the use of the firearm”.
The first-time offender had pleaded guilty to possession of a total of 17 rounds of ammunition and a .45 semiautomatic pistol. Ten bullets were found on November 6, 2016 and the other seven the following day along with the gun.
The maximum fine of $50 000 was imposed as a starting sentence. But deductions were made after the judge considered all the circumstances of the case, the aggravating and mitigating factors, Biscette’s positive pre-sentencing report, his early guilty plea and the time he had spent on remand.
For the possession of the seven rounds of ammunition, Biscette was ordered to pay $6 250. The sum of $1 250 had to be paid forthwith and the balance of $5 000 is to be paid in six months.
On the gun charge he was fined $40 000, $20 000 of which had to be paid immediately and the balance due to be settled in ten months.
For having ten rounds of ammunition he was fined another $6 250 with a forthwith payment of $1 250 and the balance of $5 000 payable in six months.
If he fails to pay the amounts he will spend the remaining three years, 177 days in jail. The prison sentence came from the starting point of nine years.
Justice Smith-Bovell explained that the mitigating factors slightly outweighed the aggravating factors and, therefore, the sentence was reduced by one year, bringing it to eight years. A further one-third discount was also given for his guilty plea and the 674 days he had already spent on remand was also credited.
The illegal weapon and ammunition were discovered when police executed a search warrant at Biscette’s residence on November 6.
The ten rounds of ammunition were found on his dining room table. He was taken into police custody and waived his rights to an attorney. On being questioned, he told police he was involved in an altercation with another man, “so I purchased the ammunition to protect myself and my family”.
In a statement, he had said he placed the ammunition on the table while he was being shot at inside his house.
Questioned by police the following day, he said: “I sorry. I was thinking about it. Let me go and give you that gun.”
Officers returned to Biscette’s residence and he directed them to the rear of his house. He went through his back gate and into a bushy, grassy area where he moved aside some grass and pointed to a blue jacket containing the gun and a magazine with the bullets.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Smith-Bovell outlined the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offence.
Among the aggravating factors, she said, was the fact that the gun was capable of firing a number of rounds of ammunition in quick succession. This, she added, was confirmed in the accused’s statement in which he indicated he had discharged eight rounds of ammunition at a perceived threat.
The judge added that it was a deliberate act on Biscette’s part to acquire and keep the gun and ammo.
“The convicted man did use the firearm, albeit in circumstances where he had to defend himself and his family, and this resulted in the death of an individual,” she said adding that going in his favour were that he fully cooperated with the police, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, had no previous convictions, genuinely expressed remorse, and had a positive pre-sentencing report, as well as the fact that he is employed.
Justice Smith-Bovell explained that “there is no right to bear arms” and “we have all seen the loss of life that these illegal firearms have caused as in this case, despite the circumstances”.
“Through my sentencing, the message must be sent to the public that they are not to be in possession of illegal firearms for any reason whatsoever. What transpired on that evening between the accused and others was as a result of all the parties being in possession of illegal firearms and would not have transpired but for them having illegal guns,” she said.
“That is what the court is concerned with stamping out and of which it must send a serious message to all the members of the public. The court’s sentence must serve to deter members of society from acquiring illegal firearms for whatever reason.”
Crown counsel Kevin Forde prosecuted the case.
