East Ruimveldt man gets three years for armed robbery, gun and ammo charges

An East Ruimveldt man, who police say had an unlicensed gun with matching rounds that he used to rob a woman, was yesterday sentenced for the offences.

Dexter Wallace, who was 20 when he made his first court appearance on June 18, 2015, was sentenced to a total of nine years in jail but will only serve three years as the charges will run concurrently.

Wallace was charged with holding Petal De Freitas at gunpoint and robbing her of $151,500, at Oronoque and Anira streets.

He was also charged with having in his possession a .38 revolver and six rounds of .38 ammunition without being the holder of a valid firearm licence.

Wallace first appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman yesterday morning, when he was sentenced to three years for the armed robbery charge after being found guilty of the crime.

When Wallace was first charged, he had pleaded not guilty to the charge and the court heard that on the day of the robbery he was at work.

Wallace, who had pleaded not guilty to the firearm and ammunition charges, subsequently changed his pleas from not guilty to guilty yesterday afternoon.

When given the opportunity, he requested that the magistrate give him a light sentence as he already had to serve three years for the robbery charge.

Paul Fung-A-Fat, who appeared on his behalf, told the court that this sentencing will hopefully teach his client a lesson and aid in him learning from his mistakes.

Before handing down her sentence, the magistrate stated that she took into consideration all mitigating facts, especially his age. She then sentenced him to serve three years and fined him $70,000 for the firearm possession and another three years and another fine of $70,000 as well for the ammunition possession.