By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday after admitting to having a loaded gun his home, along with 32 rounds of live ammunition.
Another man was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,600 after a collective 12oz of cocaine and marijuana were also seized in the same police raid.
Jermaine Virgil, 42, with Marvin Curtis, 45, Mary Ann Curtis, 66, and Mario Jones, 43, were charged before Magistrate Lennox Coleby with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition and possession of ammunition with intent to supply.
Virgil and Jones faced additional charges of possession of dangerous drugs and possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.
Levan Johnson was represented Virgil while Keevon Maynard represented the remaining accused.
Police executed a search warrant on the defendants’ residence on an unnamed road off Stack Avenue in Nassau Village at around 4.30pm on September 7. Officers with the aid of K-9 units found a tan and black Canik 9mm pistol along with 26 rounds of 9mm ammunition. A further eight rounds of .40 ammunition were uncovered in a school bag on the premises.
A search of a shed on the property found 8oz of cocaine along with 4oz of marijuana which have a collective street value of $1,600.
In a subsequent police interview, Virgil admitted to owning the gun and 9mm ammo but denied any knowledge of the .40 ammunition.
Virgil alone pleaded guilty to the gun charges, while Jones pleaded guilty to the drug charges. The remaining accused all pleaded not guilty, resulting in the charges against those two defendants being withdrawn.
During Mr Johnson’s mitigation he stated that Virgil was gainfully employed and is the provider for three children. The attorney also stated that his client was remorseful and admitted to the offence at the earliest opportunity. For these reasons, he asked the court to be as lenient as possible in its sentencing.
Meanwhile, Mr Maynard stated that Jones was also remorseful for his actions and had spared the court’s time with his early plea. The attorney also told the court that his client takes the drugs for his own personal use to cope with a bad leg before asking for the court’s leniency.
Magistrate Coleby sentenced Virgil to 24 months in prison for the gun charges. He was further ordered to pay a fine of $3,500 for the ammunition offences or risk an additional 15 months in custody.
Jones was fined $1,200 or 12 months in prison for the coke charge and $400 or 6 months for the marijuana charge. Jones was expected to pay half his debt before his release with the remainder to be paid at a later date.
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