Jail for military-grade weapons cache under home

A man caught hiding an arsenal of high-powered firearms, including assault rifles and a shotgun, beneath his bedroom floor has been sentenced on a 15-year starting point per weapon, with the court highlighting the unprecedented scale of the offences.

After the court factored in his early guilty plea, time already spent on remand and the delay on the sentences, which are to run concurrently, Juan Juist Gerlado Clement is now left with almost seven more years to serve for having, on April 21, 2018, a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, two AK-47 automatic rifles, and a .223 calibre semi-automatic rifle without valid licences. 

Clement also admitted to having five rounds of ammunition and being in possession of and trafficking 208.49 grammes of cannabis and cultivating a cannabis plant.  

Justice Christopher Birch said: “To be confronted with a man who, up to now, was not known to the court, to all intents and purposes, was living a decent good life to find himself better armed than some military formations.

“He had no right nor business, being found in possession of a single firearm, a handgun, a pipe gun, but he finds himself better armed than a soldier, a shotgun, and three assault weapons, no lawful excuse, no licence. I can’t even say he has to be mad, because to be so armed takes deliberation, sophistication, planning.” 

While the custodial sentence for firearms normally starts between eight to ten years, Justice Birch said that in this case, 15 years was appropriate due to Clement’s possession of four military-grade weapons, noting that the current legislation did not contemplate multiple high-powered weapons and suggested that this may have to be addressed soon.  

“Given the circumstances, and acknowledging the point that Bovell did not contemplate people running around as heavily armed as this. The eight to ten years as contemplated and put forward by counsel, yes, for a single weapon, but I take note that we did not mention that the bill did not touch the multiplicity argument, and it did not touch the types of weapons, and maybe the time will come where the courts higher up than mine will revisit to take those things into account, but that may lie in the future.”

Referring to the current violent climate in Barbados, highlighting Wednesday night’s shooting incident which left one man dead, and others with injuries at Chapman’s Lane, within “spitting distance” of the Supreme Court Complex, Justice Birch reached a 15-year starting point for each firearm, which was reduced to 2 456 days after discounts were made for his plea, remand time and delay. The sentences are to run concurrently.  

He was sentenced to five years for the ammunition, which was given as time spent after the deductions, and was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on each of the drug charges.  

Principal State Counsel Romario Straker prosecuted the case, while Senior Counsel Arthur Holder represented the convicted man.  

The Supreme Court No. 5A heard that police executed a search warrant at Clement’s, Jackmans Road, Endeavour, St James, home, and saw plants suspected to be cannabis in pots and white buckets through a broken pane at the back door. There were 33 in total.  

The police found additional plants and observed stalks hanging on a line in the corner of the bedroom and noticed a piece of plywood nailed to the floor behind the bedroom door. They removed it with a hammer, revealing a hole leading to a cellar beneath Clement’s room where they found a cloth and a bag, which both contained “something heavy”.  

These contained two black and rust-coloured firearms, one shotgun, one rifle and six magazines. The shotgun was examined, and five rounds of ammunition were found in its chamber.  

When asked where he got the firearms, Clement said he had found them and, when pressed further as to the location, replied: “I can’t even remember.”  

(JB)