By Alric Lindsay
A 17-year-old Italian girl appeared in Summary Court today, November 26, 2024, and pled guilty with an explanation for possession of an unlicensed firearm, being a live 0.22 calibre round. Chief Magistrate Hernandez fined her $5,000 and ordered that no conviction be recorded.
Background
Regarding the background, counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions explained that the teenager was at Owen Roberts International Airport on November 23, 2024. She was set to depart on a British Airways flight to London after her one-month stay in Cayman.
During a routine scan, ammunition was detected.
Customs and Border Control officers searched her suitcase, where they found the 0.22 calibre bullet in a small pocket in her jeans.
When interviewed in the presence of her father, she was fully cooperative and forthcoming. She explained that she was at a shooting range in Italy and forgot that she had placed the bullet for a Winchester rifle in her jeans pocket. Unaware, the bullet remained in her jeans pocket for the past 1.5 years.
Sentencing
In Summary Court, her attorney, Stacy-Ann Kelly, said that the teenager recalled going to the gun range in Italy.
However, the bullet was only used at the shooting range (emphasis was placed on the bullet being round and having no pointed edges).
It was further explained that all shells and unused bullets would typically be returned before leaving the gun range. However, in this case, she forgot that she rested one round in her jeans and inadvertently didn’t return it.
Kelly asked the Summary Court to consider her client’s age and how such a mistake could affect her for a long time. Kelly added that she was remorseful and the incident was an oversight.
After hearing from Kelly and the DPP, Chief Magistrate Hernandez said she could “only imagine what a 17-year-old could be feeling in the dock with the likelihood of her entire life being changed with a conviction, possibly custody.”
The Chief Magistrate added:
For the Court to deviate from normal sentencing… the Court must find extenuating circumstances.
I accept that it was found on the way out of the jurisdiction.
I accept you didn’t wear the jeans for a period of time.
I accept you kept the bullet and forgot about it.
I accept that it is the kind of bullet only used at a firing range.
The Chief Magistrate continued:
I cannot ignore your age.You are still a child being tried as an adult in this Court.You have been forthright and honest.
The Chief Magistrate concluded:
I am not recording a conviction.
No justice will be served in giving you a conviction in the circumstances.
The teenager was then fined $5,000 or be required to serve five months in prison if unpaid. The amount must be settled before her passport is given back to her.
The bullet was ordered forfeited and destroyed.
Reporting restrictions
Due to the girl’s age, the Chief Magistrate ordered that neither her name nor anything that could directly or indirectly identify her may be published.
