Youth gets two years for having illegal pistol

A youth was sentenced to two years in jail last Friday after he admitted to having an unlicensed firearm.

Dwayne Castello, 19, pleaded guilty to the charge that on November 22nd, he had a .40 pistol in his possession, without being the holder of a firearm licence. Castello pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to two years in jail.

The court of city magistrate Leron Daly heard that the police were on patrol in Middle Road, East La Penitence, where, acting on information received, they stopped a car and conducted a search on the two occupants of the vehicle. Nothing of evidential value was found on the driver. However, a woman’s bag was found on Castello with the firearm inside.

Following his guilty plea, magistrate Daly imposed the two-year sentence.

Meanwhile, Castello was also faced with four other charges. It was alleged that on November 3rd at Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, with a firearm in his possession, robbed Tajeram Chaitram of an iPhone, valued $180,000, spectacles valued $100,000 and $40,000 cash.

The second charge stated that on November 2nd, also at Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Castello, in the company of another and armed with a firearm, robbed Dax Kissoon of a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, valued $200,000, and $2,000 cash.

The third charge stated that on November 2nd, at D’Urban Backlands, in the company of another and armed with a firearm, Castello robbed Wes Matthews of an iPhone, valued $65,000, a wallet valued $5,000 and $5,000 cash. Another man, Antonio Maraj, was previously charged with this offence and remanded.

The final charge stated that on November 16th, while being in custody at the Kitty Police Station, Castello escaped.

Castello pleaded not guilty to the four charges. Magistrate Daly adjourned the matters until December 15th for a report on the case files by police.