A sixteen year old boy charged with keeping a prohibited firearm, a homemade gun, was freed of the charge today in the #1 Magistrate's Court when it was withdrawn by the prosecution after consultation with the legal advisor for the prosecution Branch. The boy had pleaded guilty to the charge on Friday, January 7 and his sentencing was adjourned until yesterday. That's when Dickie Bradley discovered that the minor was charged under the wrong section of the law and the sentencing was adjourned until today for the court book to be amended:
Dickie Bradley, attorney
"I was arguing that there is no definition anywhere in the law of what is a home-made firearm. The young man had told the court that what he saw behind a septic tank in an unfence yard, they didn't find it on him, in his house or in his room, its find in an unfence yard behind an old septic tank is a piece of board with a metal tape to it, no trigger, no hammer, nothing that would cause that thing to explode. We don't know if there is another something because the gun or the object is not brought to court. In the course of the arguments to say your Honor lets us call on the national forensic science lab to bring the object to court because your Honor if of the view that must sent this young man to jail at least let us know that it is a firearm under the law because a firearm is the define in the firearm act."
"The Chief Magistrate in fact in her own research of this matter saw that the charge sheet was referring a section of the firearms act which is not in existence. There is no such section 351D does not exist, so she is saying but I can't this section for the firearm act, I am saying there is reference to a firearm in the statutory instrument which is a further amendment to the firearms act. So the family of the young man retain the services of Mr. Anthony Sylvestre who had come to court prepared to make submissions but as an alternative would have inform the court the young man would not plea guilty and they will go a trial. Mr. Sylvestre was prepared to ask for what is called a "case stated" to say let's take this matter to the Supreme Court to clear up that there is problems with the legislations and with the statutory instrument, it is the view of some attorneys that when the minister sign the statutory instrument he may have gone outside his authority to make changes to what we called the "parent act" The parent act gives ministers the authority to make regulations on certain matters, in this particular case the minister must consult the commissioner of police before he amends the act. The minister in fact repeals the complete schedule and brought in a new schedule with new offences not known to the parent act, that is a matter that can be argued in court. This morning the prosecutor said she consulted and in the circumstances of all that I have been explaining to you felt that you know I am going to withdraw the charges against this young man."
The bottom line of it all was that it was concluded today and there was no law currently on the books to provide for the offence the boy was charged with.
The three other persons who were charged jointly with the boy had their charges withdrawn when he pleaded guilty last Friday.
The police found the homemade firearm near a septic tank in Ciego's yard on Curl Thompson Street when they searched it on Friday, January 7.
