By PAVEL BAILEY
TWO men appeared in Magistrate’s Court yesterday on firearm charges.
David Williams, 20, was accused of possession of an unlicensed firearm last December.
Yesterday, the arresting officer in the case told the court that while in custody, Williams allegedly acknowledged the weapon police confiscated was his after they found it in his possession.
The confiscated black Smith & Wesson .40 pistol and its magazine with 10 rounds of ammunition was also displayed in court. Both were later officially submitted into evidence with the written record of interview.
Williams’ lawyer tried to raise an issue with the fact that other officers, in addition to the arresting officer, were on the evidence forms, but the magistrate saw no issue with this matter as he said many officers would naturally have been involved in this case.
The defence then questioned Williams’ arresting officer by asking if she had properly scanned the gun for his client’s fingerprints, She said she was unsure. She did, however, stress that crime scene investigators would have handled the matter according to proper police procedure, to which the magistrate agreed.
Williams’ case was adjourned to March 8.
Another man also appeared in court in connection with an unlicensed firearm charge.
Stefon Sands, 24, maintained his not guilty plea to his charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after being found in possession of a black Glock 9mm pistol by police on January 8.
During his written record of interview, he allegedly identified the firearm in question with its magazine of seven rounds of ammunition as his own, but his arresting officer reported that he replied “no comment” during her request for an official statement on the matter.
The accused agreed he was not coerced into participating in the interview and had no further questions for his arresting officer during the trial. Sands agreed to return to court later to identify the weapon.
The case was adjourned to March 8.
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