Defence suggests one-year prison term for gunman

Sentencing submissions for a gunman who shot into a food shop one night seven years ago will continue later this month.

The defence has suggested that all things considered, 25-year-old Tremaine Alexander Christico Marshall of Block 1K Nursery Close, Eden Lodge, St Michael, who pleaded guilty to using a firearm and wounding Gary Lewis with intent to maim, disfigure or disable on April 16, 2016, should spend a year in prison. The prosecution, on the other hand, has recommended 10 years.

The attorneys on both sides made sentencing submissions in the No. 2 Supreme Court on Thursday.

Defence lawyer Angella Mitchell-Gittens SC recommended a 12-year starting point, noting that the aggravating circumstances of the offence included that the firearm was used in a public place, and the pain and suffering caused to Lewis who was an innocent bystander. She said mitigating factors included her client’s cooperation with the police.

Noting that Marshall’s actions were in defence of his sister who had returned home that evening with a wound to her face, the lawyer asked the court to consider his early guilty plea, his young age at the time of the incident and his clean record prior. Those factors, she said, should reduce the starting point to 10 years.

Pointing to the five years Marshall had spent on remand, the one-third discount for an early guilty plea, and the delay in getting the matter to court, she said this would reduce his sentence to just over a year in Dodds prison.

Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis asked for a 15-year starting period, citing that the use of the firearm had resulted in injuries, that the firearm had been discharged in a residential area, that Marshall’s action was retaliatory in nature, and the “alarming response” to his sister’s incident.

Speaking on the offender, she said the aggravating features included his pre-sentence report which showed a moderate to high risk of reoffending, and noted Marshall’s early guilty plea and the fact that he had no previous conviction. The prosecutor said 10 years was an appropriate sentence.

After Mitchell-Gittens called into question the pre-sentencing report, Justice Randall Worrell requested the prison to send a report on Marshall’s time on remand.