Rockies man jailed for six years on gun, ammo charges

Akeem Ferdinand will, for the next six years, be a resident at Her Majesty’s Prison, after he was sentenced for two firearm related charges.

Ferdinand, 22, of Rockies, was charged jointly with 25-year-old Mwata Henry of Redemption Sharpes and 34-year-old Marlon Wyllie of Murray’s Village that on August 15, in the Murray Village area, he was in possession of a prohibited weapon – a nine-millimetre Uzi. They were also charged with possession of 12 nine-millimetre rounds without a licence.

Ferdinand, who is unemployed, was sentenced to six years for possession of the unlicensed firearm and two years for possession of the ammunition for said firearm, to run concurrently.

When Ferdinand was brought before magistrate Bertie Pompey on August 17, he pleaded guilty to the charges. “If I wasn’t intoxicated, I would not have taken up the gun and walk with it,” Ferdinand said on August 21, when he reappeared before the magistrate.

Pompey then asked Ferdinand if the alcohol made him see the gun, to which he responded, “It mek me tek it up and walk wid it, when ah shud ah lef it dey, cause is nah mine.”

Both Henry, who is unemployed and Wyllie, a vendor, pleaded not guilty to the firearm and ammunition charges. They were remanded and their case was transferred to the Serious Offences Court to be heard on September 4.

Prosecutor Elgin Richards, in objecting to bail, said with the recent spate of gun crimes in Redemption Sharpes and the close proximity to where the men were found, they should be kept in custody. He further stated that certain exhibits that were retrieved from the last crime scene in Redemption Sharpes point to the weapon that was found in the defendants’ possession.

Richards also stated that the case is a matter of national security and affects not just Redemption Sharpes, but is wider and far-reaching.

Henry, however, pleaded guilty to two further charges: driving an uninsured vehicle without a licence and driving a vehicle without a driver’s permit.

When the sentence was being handed down, Henry asked the magistrate to take into consideration the fact that he cannot read and write and is only able to spell his name, so he is unable to go through the correct procedure to acquire a driver’s licence.

He was fined $450, to be paid forthwith or three months in prison for driving without a driver’s permit and $250, to be paid forthwith or two months in prison for driving an uninsured vehicle without a licence.(JWC)