Woman to pay $20 000 for having stolen gun and no licence

A St John woman has been ordered to pay a $20 000 fine for possession of a loaded firearm which she said she stole from a licensed gun holder to commit suicide.

Of that amount, 40-year-old Natalie Delores Clarke, a resident of Stewart Hill, had to pay $5 000 forthwith on Thursday.

She stole the .22 pistol containing ten rounds of ammunition from the vehicle of Vincent Alleyne on May 19, 2021.

Alleyne had met Clarke three weeks prior to the incident, struck up a friendship, and would transport her to various locations at her request.

After getting one such request he placed his gun under the driver’s seat of his vehicle before picking up Clarke from her residence on the date in question and transporting her to several areas on the island.

However, when Alleyne checked for his weapon after dropping off Clarke later that day, he discovered it was missing.

During investigations, Clarke initially denied being the thief, saying: “I ain’t take up no firearm”.   

However, she subsequently directed police to where she had hidden the weapon and told them, among other things, that she “took up the gun to kill myself”.

Before the No. 2 Supreme Court on Thursday, her attorneys Simon Clarke and Michael Lashley Q.C., urged Justice Worrell to “temper justice with mercy” on the first-time offender by imposing a fine.

Clarke told the court that his client’s guilty plea was a strong mitigating factor as it showed that she was willing to accept the consequences of her actions.

In urging the judge to impose a fine of $15 000 for having the firearm without a licence and $5 000 for the ammunition, to be paid within six months, the defence attorney pointed out that the gun had been recovered and had not been used to commit any crimes.

Clarke said his client was “not beyond reform” and was capable of making a meaningful contribution to society.

In his submissions, State Counsel Romario Straker suggested a starting sentence of eight years with the necessary credits given, including the one-third discount for her guilty plea which would result in four years in prison minus the time she had spent on remand.

Alternatively, the prosecutor said, a substantial fine could be imposed. He suggested $20 000 for the possession of the firearm and $10 000 for the bullets, to be paid in four months or serve the alternative prison term.

Straker also recommended that the convict receive psychiatric treatment.

Justice Worrell, in handing down the sentence, stated that Clarke had spent 210 days on remand and while her crime merited a custodial sentence, another punishment in the form of a fine would suffice in her case, as the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating features.

He agreed with the starting sentence of eight years, following which the necessary legal deductions were made, leaving Clarke with 1 250 days left to serve.

But the convicted woman will only spend that time in prison if she fails to pay the $15 000 imposed on her for possession of the firearm. That amount must be paid in four months.

A $5 000 fine was also imposed for the ammunition but had to be paid immediately to the court before Clarke could go.