Two get three years for illegal firearm

Jan 17, 2012 News

Two residents of Victoria Street, Albouystown, were yesterday sentenced to three years’ imprisonment

Neil Mc Bean

after they both admitted to acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, that they had an illegal .22 pistol in their possession.
Twenty-three-year old Shellon Taylor broke into tears when she along with 52-year-old Neil Mc Bean heard that for the seriousness of the crime and for knowing the consequences of their actions, they would have to pay a $75,000 fine and go to jail for three years.
The two defendants both appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court where they gave varying stories of what transpired.
According to Mc Bean, Taylor approached him asking if he could loan her some cash. The man said the woman had indicated her desire to go into the interior, but that she did not have the money. He claimed that she offered him the gun which was not in working order. Mc Bean said that he loaned her the money in exchange for the pistol.
The following day, Mc Bean alleged, someone came to him threatening him for the gun, so to defuse the situation he called Taylor to give her the weapon back. She, he said, appeared with the police who arrested him and took him to court.
Taylor however related to the court that the .22 pistol had been given to her by one Alfred Benjamin. She said Benjamin had asked her to hold on to the gun which she did for two days. She said she subsequently gave the firearm to Mc Bean.
She claimed that days later, Benjamin wanted his gun back, but when she approached Mc Bean he refused to give it up. Taylor claimed that instead, Mc Bean told her that they would get problems for the gun since he had already bought rounds for the pistol.
She said that is when she contacted the police. On the first attempt, she said the police were unable to apprehend the man who went into hiding. But after a sting operation that lured Mc Bean into the hands of waiting police officers, he was caught days later at her home.

Shellon Taylor

After listening to both sides including the police facts that revealed that the pistol was recovered without ammunition, the court ordered the persons to pay the fine and face the minimum sentence of three years for the illegal gun.
It was also noted that the third accused mentioned for the gun will face charges of Illegal gun possession. He is currently in police custody.