2 years in jail for man nabbed with unlicensed machine gun

Twenty-seven-year-old Akeem Bristol was on Monday sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for the unlawful possession of an Uzi semi-automatic machine gun. The punishment was handed down by Magistrate Rhondell Weever at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
At his initial arraignment on December 11, Bristol, a father of one of North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, pleaded guilty to a charge for the offence of unlawful possession of a firearm.
His plea was accepted by the court.
Magistrate Weever had deferred his sentencing to Monday because she wanted to see the videotaped confession Bristol had given to the Police.
Bristol was not represented by an attorney at either of his court appearances.
At the December 11 court proceedings, Bristol pleaded guilty with an explanation to the charge, telling Magistrate Weever that while cleaning a drain, he found the gun in a bag.
He continued by saying that the Policewoman refused to accept his complaint when he attempted to turn in the gun at the station.
Bristol claimed that when he was stopped by Police ranks on his way home from the Police station, he told them, “I got something illegal to turn in.”
According to the Police prosecutor, Bristol told the Police in a video interview that he had found the pistol four weeks prior and intended to sell it to someone.
When determining an appropriate sentence for Bristol, Magistrate Weever took into account his early guilty plea, his status as a first-time offender, and his delay in handing over the gun.
She informed him that the day he found the gun, he ought to have brought it to the Police station.
On the day in question, December 7, at about 00:40h, ranks from the Turkeyen Police Station were on patrol in North Sophia, Georgetown when they noticed Bristol pedalling a bicycle through a cross street with a cart attached, a report from Police Headquarters said.
Upon seeing the lawmen, Bristol hopped off the cycle and attempted to run, but due to the quick response by the ranks, they were able to apprehend him.
The ranks searched Bristol but found nothing illegal on him.
They then searched the cart on his cycle and found a black plastic bag containing one Uzi semi-automatic machine gun, with an empty magazine, a Guyana Identification card and a bank ATM card, both in favour of Bristol.
Bristol replied “No”, when the ranks asked if he had a firearm licence.
He was told of the offence committed and cautioned, after which he said: “Sir, I find it in a trench on Sophia Road”.
He was arrested and escorted to the Alberttown Police Station where the firearm was examined and no serial number was found on the frame.
The firearm has since been taken to the ballistics section for examination. (G1)