By PAVEL BAILEY
A MOTHER burst into tears in a Magistrate’s Court room yesterday as her son was sentenced to two years in prison for firearm and ammunition possession.
Peter Outten, 23, stood trial before Senior Magistrate Samuel McKinney on charges of possession of a dangerous firearm and ammunition.
In March 2021, Outten was arrested after being found in possession of a 9mm pistol with one unfired round of ammunition without a license.
While Outten had pleaded not guilty to the offence and had several witnesses testify in his defense, the Magistrate rejected the defense’s evidence due to the conflicting stories of the witnesses.
As such, Magistrate McKinney found the accused guilty on both charges.
Outten’s lawyer Bjorn Ferguson then asked for mercy on his client’s behalf stating that the accused was a father of three with one child on the way and that Outten was the sole breadwinner of his family.
In view of Outten’s previous firearm conviction in 2018, for which he served 18 months in prison, the Magistrate sentenced him to two years in prison on his latest firearm charge.
Magistrate McKinney also ordered the accused to pay a $7,500 fine on the gun charge or face an additional nine months in prison.
Outten was further sentenced to one year in prison for the ammunition charge. This is to be served concurrently.
After being informed of his right to appeal his sentence within seven days, Outten embraced his tearful mother before being escorted from the courtroom.
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