Lindener jailed, fined for ammo possession

A Lindener who appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday was sentenced to three years in prison for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
Andre Walcott, 23, had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on August 7, 2014, he had 10 live .32 rounds of ammunition in his possession, while not having a firearm licence in force.
However, when the case was called on Tuesday, the defendant changed his plea to guilty.
Responding to questions posed by the presiding Magistrate, he also indicated that he had not consumed alcohol or narcotics over the last 24 hours and as such, he is changing his plea of his own free will.
Magistrate Nurse then related to the defendant that the offence was a serious one, carrying a minimum penalty of three years in prison.
In his plea of mitigation, Walcott asked the court to take into consideration the fact that he had been on remand for the offence since 2014, added to the fact that he has a three-year-old daughter.
Magistrate Nurse told the court that he took that into consideration, adding that he gave the defendant credit for not wasting the court’s time. As such, he deducted two years from the original sentence, leaving three years. Additionally, the defendant was fined ,000.