‘Honest mistake’

Confessed gunman R-Jay Dijohn Kemani Maloney will be sentenced on October 31 after admitting to having a 9 mm handgun and two rounds of .380 ammunition.

The 22-year-old of 2nd Avenue Rouen Road, Belle, St Michael took responsibility before Madam Justice Wanda Blair for having the illegal items on May 11, 2021.

State prosecutor Romario Straker, in reading the facts to the court, said the loaded illegal weapon was discovered when police conducted a traffic stop that day.

Maloney was in a vehicle with other men when they were pulled over and a bag containing the weapon was found in the rear left passenger seat where he was seated.

“That is mine . . . the bag is mine . . . the firearm is mine,” he said when questioned by lawmen.

Ammunition was found in the gun and he told police, “the rounds are mine”.

During investigations, Maloney told lawmen that he had the gun with him because the men were purchasing a motorcycle that day.

“So, I walk with it to intimidate the person in case he try to rob us . . . ,” he told the police.

Before the No. 2 Supreme Court on Wednesday, the young man apologised.

“I made an honest mistake. What I have done is unacceptable. During the time I have been incarcerated I have had a lot to ponder . . . . I would like to sincerely apologise to the court as well as the members of the Barbados Police Force . . . ,” he said.

His attorney Angella Mitchell-Gittens and the prosecutor made submissions on sentencing. Both lawyers agreed the first-time offender could be fined for his crime.

Straker suggested that a fine between $10 000 and $15 000 be imposed for the firearm and $2 500 for the two rounds of ammunition.

He said a seven-year starting sentence could be imposed as an alternative if the fine is not paid. From that prison term, he said deductions for the time Maloney had spent on remand and a one-third discount for his guilty plea should be given.

Mitchell-Gittens, meanwhile, urged Justice Blair to allow her client the opportunity to pay a fine and return to society “where a job is waiting for him”.

She said Maloney can be rehabilitated and “can do better if given the chance”.