UPDATE: Maintenance man gets 18 months for gun & cannabis possession
The defendant was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of explosives and possession of cannabis. He had pleaded guilty to all of the charges.
Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards, in handing down her sentence, said the court took the defendant’s age at the time of the incident into consideration (Scatliffe was 26 years old at the time) in addition to his guilty plea as mitigating factors.
He was sentenced to 4 months on the charge of possession of explosives, 18 months on the charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm and 9 months on the charge of possession of cannabis.
The sentences are to be run concurrently from his first date of remand.
See previous story posted on November 26, 2012:
Maintenance man convicted of gun possession charges
USVI national Halim Scatliffe, 29, has been convicted on charges of possession of explosives and carrying an unlicensed firearm after attending court for the past three years in relation to the matter. The defendant had previously pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of cannabis.
Scatliffe was found guilty on both counts when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards on November 20, 2012 and asked to offer mitigation before his sentence could be handed down. Police Officer Michel Ettienne, who offered forensic evidence previously, was one of the witnesses put forward in support of the Crown’s case.
The defendant was represented by attorney-at-law Stacy Abel who told the court that Scatliffe was a "maintenance" person who had no priors on the offences he was convicted of but was previously fined for possession of cannabis. She also told the court that the defendant was expecting a child and was not a known trouble maker in the community.
Ms Abel acknowledged the offences were of a serious nature but suggested that even though his previous offence may have been an aggravating factor in sentencing, consideration should be given to the mitigating factor that there were no previous convictions of a similar type and asked that his punishment be put on a moderate scale.
The defendant in offering his words of mitigation said that there was no intent to supply another person with the drug he was found with and confessed that it was for personal use.
Scatliffe also told the court that since his prior offence, he has had no trouble with the law and also works two jobs and volunteers at an after-school programme that offers tutoring for students.
The defendant said he would be willing to pay a fine for the offences if no custodial sentence was handed down.
Magistrate Richards advised the defendant that consideration of the law needed to be taken into account before the sentence could be handed down and requested that sentencing guidelines be related to her.
The defendant will return to court on December 7, 2012 for sentencing.
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