First-time gun convict hit with hefty fine, no jail – for now

A decision to keep two firearms and a quantity of ammunition for a friend has cost a St Michael man $55 000 in fines.

Reappearing before Madam Justice Pamela Beckles in the No. 5 Supreme Court on Thursday, Matthew Ricardo Wiltshire was slapped with the heavy financial penalty for being in possession of a .357 revolver and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol without a valid licence and 22 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit on February 22, 2022.

The resident of Rogers Road, Back Ivy, St Michael, was ordered to pay $20 000 and $10 000 immediately for the revolver and the ammunition, respectively, and given nine months to pay $25 000 for the “more powerful” .357 revolver.

Failure to settle the fine for the firearms will result in the first-time offender being imprisoned for four years and 138 days and one year and 260 days for the ammunition.

Noting the aggravating factors of the offence, including its gravity, the substantial amount of ammunition and the prevalence of such crimes in society, Justice Beckles said there were no mitigating factors and gave Wiltshire a nine-year starting sentence for each of the firearm offences and five years for the ammunition.

She said the offender’s expression of remorse, lack of criminal record, excellent pre-sentence report showing him at low risk of reoffending, had contributed to a two-year reduction on each charge. The 105 days he spent on remand were also deducted, and a one-third discount was given for his early guilty plea.

The judge said that after also considering the testimonies from character witnesses who indicated that Wiltshire was “a person of good character who made a bad decision”, and the submissions made by Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis and Wiltshire’s counsel Safiya Moore, the court believed that while the offences were serious, a non-custodial sentence would meet the interest of justice in this case.

Justice Beckles scheduled the matter for review on February 14, 2025.