Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A man from La Romaine has been sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour after admitting to being in unlawful possession of two bullets.
Anthony Ogeer received the sentence after pleading guilty to ammunition possession before Justice Nalini Singh earlier this month.
Ogeer was arrested after police officers executed a search warrant at his home on November 1, 2023. Police officers found two rounds of .38 calibre ammunition under a two-burner tabletop stove.
In deciding the appropriate starting sentence for Ogeer, Justice Singh had to determine the appropriate maximum sentence for the offence under the Firearms Act, as Ogeer had been convicted of ammunition possession before a magistrate months before police found the ammunition in his kitchen.
Under the legislation, first-time offenders face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted on indictment before a High Court. Repeat offenders face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Justice Singh noted that the lower penalty applied, as Ogeer’s first conviction was before a magistrate.
“To interpret ‘second offence’ as including a prior summary conviction would require the court to read into the statute words that are not there,” Justice Singh said.
Justice Singh decided on a six-year starting point but increased it by three years based on Ogeer’s criminal record of five convictions, including for the previous ammunition possession offence.
She noted that Ogeer was convicted of marijuana possession in January 2017 and was reprimanded and discharged. In March 2018, he was again convicted of marijuana possession and placed on a bond.
A year later, he was again charged with marijuana possession and was issued a $1,500 fine.
Two years later, he re-offended for a fourth time and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
In January 2023, he was charged with marijuana and ammunition possession. In January this year, he pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.
“The court finds that the offenders’ culpability is nonetheless heightened beyond the baseline case of simple possession of a small number of rounds,” Justice Singh said.
“The repetition of offending, albeit for narcotics-based offences whilst on bail, requires a more severe response to mark the breach of trust and to reinforce deterrence,” she added.
Justice Singh then reduced Ogeer’s sentence by one and a half years based on the fact that he participated in several rehabilitation programmes whilst in prison for his previous conviction.
She then applied a one-third discount based on Ogeer’s guilty plea.
“His plea has spared the court’s time and has signalled an early willingness to acknowledge his wrongdoing,” she said.
Ogeer was represented by Frank Gittens, while Maria Lyons-Edwards led the legal team for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
