Man gets three years over illegal gun charge

A man was yesterday received a three-year prison sentence after being found guilty of having an unlicensed gun in his possession.

Dorwin Hardin, of Lot 1 Laing Avenue, had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stated that he had an unlicensed .38 revolver in his possession on March 3, 2013, at West Ruimveldt Front Road.

The sentence was handed down by Magistrate Fabayo Azore, who presided over the man’s trial at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

At his arraignment in April, Police Prosecutor Alexis David-Hosannah had said that the police were on patrol and they tried to stop Harding, who was on his bicycle, but he continued riding. David-Hosannah added that Harding was subsequently seen by the police dropping a gun from his waist on to the ground. She said that he was later apprehended and charged.

Harding told the court that the police never found any gun on him, claiming that an officer took a gun from out of his vest and told the other officers around him, “This is wah he had.” He also accused the police of assaulting him.

Hardin was ordered to pay a fine of $50,000, in addition to the three-year sentence.