Whitehead jailed for having AK47 and bullets

Sean George Whitehead has been jailed for having an AK47 rifle and 24 rounds of compatible ammunition illegally 12 years ago.

Justice Randall Worrell imposed a starting sentence of ten years in prison on the Long Beach Estate, Christ Church resident who had pleaded guilty to the March 10, 2011 offences.

That sentence was reduced downwards by two years, given the mitigating and aggravating factors. Whitehead was also given a one-third discount for his guilty plea and 910 days were deducted for the delay in hearing his matter as well as the 28 days he had spent on remand. This left him with 1 009 days left to serve at Dodds.

In handing down the sentence in the No. 2 Supreme Court, Justice Worrell noted that there have been circumstances in which the courts have indicated that convicts are to pay fines for gun offences, but Whitehead’s case was “out of proportion” with the other matters adjudicated by the court.

“It is not as if you did not know that there was ammunition . . . . To indicate to a court that someone has no intention to use a firearm when it has compatible ammunition is . . .  bordering on incredulous. I did not say that you intended to use the firearm but I am saying it is an aggravating feature.

“It is illegal to have them if you don’t have a licence but then to have ammunition which can be used at the drop of a hat, that is something that the court must frown on. It is like saying one has a stove in one’s house connected to the gas but they don’t intend to cook,” Justice Worrell said.

The judge insisted that the case could only be dealt with by way of a custodial sentence as “it is an extremely serious offence”.

As Whitehead bowed his head in the prisoner’s dock, Justice Worrell added: “I don’t understand why you found yourself in this situation, honestly, but it is a very serious situation to find yourself. When one looks at your pre-sentencing report, there was absolutely no need for you to possess that firearm or any firearm or such type of firearm and ammunition. Only you can know why you did it.”

Whitehead had also pleaded guilty to having 3.44 kilogrammes of cannabis and equipment fit and intended for use in connection with the preparation for the misuse of the drug on March 10, 2011. He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on those charges.