Businessman on gun, ammo charges granted bail in High Court

Georgetown businessman Tyrone Hamilton, who was slapped with unlawful possession of a gun and ammunition charges earlier this month has secured bail in the High Court, pending the outcome of his trial.

Hamilton, 32, of Lot 12 Public Road, Kitty, secured $120,000 bail on the unlawful possession of a gun charge and $50,000 bail on the unlawful possession of ammunition charge after his lawyer approached the High Court. Magistrate Sueanna Lovell had remanded him to prison, when he was arraigned at Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court on December 1. It is alleged that Hamilton on June, 14, at Lot 80 Fifth Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, had a Taurus pistol without being the holder of a licence at the time. It was also alleged that he also had 62 live rounds of ammunition in his possession without being the holder of a firearm licence. He denies both allegations.

Tyrone Hamilton
Tyrone Hamilton

On December 1, his attorney-at-law Peter Hugh, who appeared in association with Latchmi Rahamat, had urged the court to grant the defendant bail, arguing that Hamilton had no knowledge of the weapon and ammunition, which were left behind by his business associate Marcus Anderson, in a safe he had no control over. During the bail application, Hugh further mentioned that his client had recently moved into the premises with his wife who had given birth to twins.

However, Hamilton was remanded to prison, after Police Prosecutor John Singh, who presented the prosecution’s case, informed the court that Hamilton kept personal items in the safe. Those items, Singh said, included ammunition for Hamilton’s licensed firearm.

At the end of yesterday’s proceedings, Magistrate Zamilla Ally adjourned the matter until January 19.