Gollop pleads guilty to 28 charges

It took over 15 minutes for charges to be read to Edward Dacosta Gollop in the No. 3A Supreme Court on Wednesday. At the end, he admitted to committing 28 offences, such as arson, drug possession, and having a range of guns including high-powered rifles.

 

The 52-year-old resident of School Lane, Halls Road, St Michael, stood before Justice Anthony Blackman and pleaded guilty to offences committed between August 27, 2015 and August 14, 2020.

 

The charges included:

• having a .40 semi-automatic pistol without a valid licence and 33 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit; having and trafficking 986.58 grammes of cannabis and 98.17 grammes of cocaine; having apparatus fit and intended for use of cannabis; and engaging in money laundering, where he had in his possession $2 028.10 and US$27, the proceeds of crime, on August 27, 2015.
• having a SAR-1 7.62 calibre rifle, an AK47 7.62 rifle, a Smith and Wesson .45 auto calibre pistol, and a Colt .45 without a valid licence; having 217 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit; possessing and trafficking 1 300 grammes of cannabis and 5.7 kilogrammes of cocaine; and engaging in money laundering in that he received money totalling $74 690.78, being the proceeds of crime, on October 9, 2017.
• possession, trafficking  and importation of 121.9 kilogrammes of cannabis on May 27, 2019,
• committing arson at a house belonging to Cheildonia Norville on August 5, 2020;
• and having a .223 semi-automatic rifle, a .40 semi-automatic pistol and 35 rounds of ammunition on August 14, 2020.

Principal State Counsel Rudolph Burnett accepted the guilty pleas on behalf of the state. Justice Blackman adjourned the proceedings until May 8, when the court will hear facts and sentencing submissions from the prosecution and defence attorney Andrew Pilgrim, KC.