Police Officer jailed for three years

POLICE CONSTABLE Mayon Spring was, on Friday, sentenced to three years in prison for illegally removing 25 rounds of ammunition from the Calliaqua Police Station last November.

When Spring appeared before the Serious Offences Court last month he was charged for corruptly obtaining 25 rounds of 5.56 ammunition for himself by an omission in the discharge of the duty of his office, while employed as a police officer between November {{more}}27 and 29 at Calliaqua.

He was further charged for stealing the said ammunition, which is valued EC$26.50. A third charge of conspiracy was also laid against him.

The trial revealed that Spring was observed removing the ammunition from a desk and placing it into a bag on November 28, 2015.

On November 29, 2015 the matter was drawn to the attention of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sydney James, who in turn held a meeting at the station.

The first witness to take the stand PC 189 Caesar, when grilled by Spring’s lawyer Grant Connell, revealed that he and another police officer went to Spring’s locker and saw the ammunition, counted it and reported it to a Corporal King.

During the meeting with ASP James, Spring confessed to the senior officer that he indeed had the ammunition in his locker, which he later handed over to police.

Six other officers took the witness stand to testify against Spring during the matter.

When he appeared before the Serious Offences Court on Friday, Spring asked for leniency and for the court to impose a fine, however, Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias stated that the matter was too serious an offence.

“I take no pleasure in prosecuting this,” Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche told the Magistrate before advising a custodial sentence.

The police officer was sentenced to three years in prison for possession of the ammunition, one year for conspiracy and nine months for theft. The sentences will run concurrently.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT at the conclusion of the case, the Senior Prosecutor stated that it was not easy to prosecute someone he knows from policing, but he decided to make a professional decision and “let the chips fall where they may”. (AS)