OZARIO DeSantos, a 27-year-old miner of Princeville, Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), was Monday, April 23, 2019, jailed for two years by Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

DeSantos had pleaded guilty to the charges, the particulars of which stated that on April 20, 2019, at Garraway Stream, Potaro, he had a .32 pistol along with six matching rounds of ammunition, knowing he was not a licensed firearm holder.

According to Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield, on the day in question, ranks from the Mahdia Police Station acted upon information and went to DeSantos’s residence. When they arrived, a search was conducted on the defendant which revealed the loaded firearm.
“I use the firearm for protection”! he told the magistrate.

However, the prosecutor stated that DeSantos was arrested for a similar offence in 2017 at Linden. He added that the defendant was released on bail, but did not show up for trial.

DeSantos was tried in absentia, was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment. The prosecutor also told the court that although an arrest warrant was issued for DeSantos, he was not apprehended.

After listening to the prosecutor, the magistrate sentenced DeSantos to two years imprisonment and fined him $50,000 on each charge. The defendant will also have to serve the three-year sentence for the other charge. The sentences will run concurrently.