Justice Charles Quin handed down a 10-year sentence, the minimum mandatory sentence for possession of an unlicensed firearm to 20year old Robert Aaron Crawford on Tuesday 22^nd January in the Cayman Islands Grand Court.

On the 31st October 2012 the Defendant was found guilty of one charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm contrary to s.15 (1) and s.l5 (5) of the Firearms Law  (2008 Revision).  The particulars of the offence are that the Defendant, on Friday the 18th day of November 2011, at the Esterley Tibbetts highway, in the vicinity of the Island Heritage Roundabout had, in his possession a firearm, namely a Stock German Luger containing a magazine with six 9mm Luger rounds, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a Firearm User’s Licence.

Please see iNews Cayman article that gave full details of the case published November 5^th 2012 “Known gang member found guilty of gun possession” at

http://www.ieyenews.com/2012/11/known-gang-member-found-guilty-of-gun-possession/

In the submissions by the Crown they stated a number of cases that had been heard before the Grand Court and pointed out that in this case this was a “lethal barrelled weapon“,a loaded firearm with six rounds of ammunition.

The submission also said that, although there is no evidence of any intention to commit any further offences, possessing the firearm itself must be the Court’s focus  – in light of the “massive increase in offences under the Firearms Law.” On this point, Senior Crown counsel submits that the danger to be considered is that the firearm could fall into the hands of someone who could possess the necessary intent to commit further offences.

Counsel also submitted that, again, although there was no evidence of any intention to commit any further offences, the Defendant made serious and determined efforts to evade apprehension.

It was also pointed out that although this Defendant does not have any serious convictions, he is not a man of good character. A Social Inquiry Report (SIR) raises serious concerns as, based on the historical conduct of the Defendant, his risk of re-offending is high.

The Defence asked the Court to take into account the Defendant’s age and said there was no suggestion the firearm was going to be used for other offences or for any ulterior motive.

The defendant had one previous conviction for handling stolen goods and another for breach of probation.

Justice Quin said he was pleased another illegal firearm plus ammunition has been taken off the streets and commended the RCIPS officer who gave chase.

The Judge said, “The SIR makes it clear that the Defendant still denies the offence and continues to submit that he was unaware that he was being chased by the police- as he was never the driver of the vehicle. This, regrettably, is contrary to all the evidence, and makes it extremely  difficult for defence counsel to make any further mitigating submissions On behalf of the Defendant.

“The SIR states that the Defendant’s overall risk of reoffending within one  year of release is assessed as very high, and this paints a very pessimistic picture.”

The Judge referred to guidelines by Lord Bingham in his Court of Appeal Judgment in the decision of R v. Avis (1998) and said in this case he was adopting the same guidelines.

The weapon was loaded. There was no evidence of any premeditated use of the weapon. There is no evidence of any specific criminal intent to endanger life or to cause fear of violence.  However, possession of a loaded firearm is, by its very nature, a very serious criminal offence. In order to discourage the unlawful possession of illegal firearms, the Legislative Assembly laid down a minimum sentence of 10 years. The Defendant has no previous convictions for any firearms offences.

The judge took into account the age of the Defendant and he had no previous convictions for firearm offences or offences of violence.

In giving the ten-year sentence the judge ordered the destruction of the gun and ammunition and the time the Defendant had spent in custody was to be taken into consideration.

His final words were:

“Ten years in prison is a long time and must act as a deterrent to others contemplating such an offence. For this Defendant, who is only 20 years of age, I hope that he will make full use of the opportunities which will be afforded to him for rehabilitation at HMPS Northward in order to equip himself with skills which he can use to lead a crime-free and productive life in the many years which will lie ahead of him after his release.”