Welder fined $2500 for imitation firearm

Once again, another young man saw it fit to equip himself with a weapon to protect himself from the “Murderville” gang in Campden Park.{{more}}

Tyrese Jack, 25, a welder, was arrested and charged for having in his possession one imitation firearm on Monday, July 21, 2008, at Campden Park. He pleaded guilty to the charge at the Serious Offences Court on Tuesday, and was fined $2,500, to be paid in one month or in default spend eight months in prison.

The young man of Campden Park told Senior Magistrate Sonya Young that he was fearful for his life ever since he was nearly robbed during the carnival season.

The Court heard that at about 8:10 p.m, narcotics officers were on mobile patrol in the area when they saw the defendant and another man sitting on a car. The police officers approached the men and requested a search and the accused consented. During the search, the imitation firearm was found in his pants waist.

Jack was cautioned by the officers and replied, “Officers, the Murderville guys say they would shoot me and if they come I will pull it and run”. The accused told the Court that he went to buy a phone card at a nearby shop that night when he overheard two guys from “Murderville” say that he had reported them to the police and that whenever they met him in the dark that they would chop him up. He even admitted to constructing the imitation firearm himself.

Both Prosecutor Station Sergeant Nigel Butcher and Magistrate Young expressed their concern about the proliferations of guns in this country. Butcher said, “People no longer look to the law for help, but rather take the law into their own hands and it’s a frightening situation that is developing,” he remarked.

On June 1, 2008, 16-year-old Gareth Baker was charged for having a knife in his possession. He had told the Court that he was walking with the knife to protect himself from the “Muderville gang.”