Byron sentenced to 10 years for robbery, imitation firearm

A 21-year-old Lowmans Leeward man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday last week on robbery charges.

He was slapped with another 10 years for possession of an imitation firearm. The charges will run concurrently.{{more}}

Nigel Byron pleaded guilty on May 17, 2010, at the High Court to robbing a woman of her gold chain and $20.

On August 15, 2009, the woman was walking in the vicinity of the Kingstown Government School at Stoney Grounds when Byron approached her.

He pointed a gun at her neck and demanded her gold chain and her purse containing $20. After relieving the woman of her belongings, Byron then fled the scene through the Aunt Jobe’s Supermarket area.

On September 3, the woman identified Byron in Kingstown wearing her chain and immediately contacted the police.

While in police custody, Byron said he got the chain from “Bush”. A search was also conducted at his home and the firearm used on the day was found. It was later revealed that it was an imitation firearm.

In court, Byron said he was sorry for what he did and would do better in the future. “My time on remand allowed me to think and I came to the realisation that I can do better,” Byron said.

As a child, Byron said he had no parental guidance and he was abandoned at age nine. “I am throwing myself at the feet of the justice and I didn’t waste the court’s time by pleading guilty at the first instance,” Byron stated.

In response to Byron, presiding judge, Justice Jennifer Remy, said that the firearm was used to put fear into the victim and she couldn’t see herself not giving him a custodial sentence. Remy added that Byron’s aggravating factors outweighed his mitigating factors.(KW)