By PAVEL BAILEY
A NEW father was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday over weapons charges.
Kevin Archer, 24, of Stark Avenue, stood before Senior Magistrate Samuel McKinney on charges of possession of a dangerous firearm and ammunition.
The court was told that on March 28, 2021, Archer was involved in a heated exchange with another driver after an accident. When officers arrived to deescalate the situation, they singled out Archer specifically who then left the scene only to return and threaten the officers with a firearm that he pulled from his jacket.
When officers told him to drop the weapon, he fled the scene, tossing the firearm as officers gave chase, ending in Archer’s capture. After his arrest, officers recovered the weapon, a silver and black coloured 9mm Luger pistol with the S/N 046978 and three unfired rounds of ammunition.
During his interview he gave a “no comment” response when asked who owned the gun. He claimed that he only ran from the police because he had weed on him.
In court Archer was found guilty of both counts against him.
Archer’s attorney, Mark Rolle, while acknowledging the serious nature of the charges against his client – of having a firearm in a public place – asked for the court’s leniency. Mr Rolle said that Archer has a six-month-old baby girl to take care of and that he is gainfully employed with no prior charges. He is employed as a pool technician.
Mr Rolle referred to established precedent on sentencing of similar charges citing Dustin Taylor’s four years in prison for weapons convictions that was later reduced to three. He ended his plea by submitting that given the nature of the crime and his client’s circumstances that Archer be given a minimal sentence as well.
Considering these facts, the magistrate sentenced Archer to 18 months in prison for the firearm charge and an additional fine of $6,500 or six more months in prison. He was also sentenced to nine months for the ammunition charges to be served concurrently to the firearm charges.
Magistrate McKinney informed Archer of his right to appeal within seven days of his sentencing.
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