Pawnshop owner remanded for unlicensed gun, ammo

Freeman Fordyce, proprietor of Brothers Pawn Shop, was arraigned on Monday before City Magistrate Judy Latchman on a charge alleging that he had in his possession one Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol along with 15 live rounds of matching ammunition on May 5, 2017 at George and Princess Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his legal counsel, Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, related that since his arrest, Fordyce had denied ownership of the weapon and ammunition which were found on the premises of the said pawnshop.

In petitioning for bail, Hughes told the court that his client is a businessman of 25 years’ standing; is not a flight risk; and there is no likelihood of his interfering with the ongoing investigations.

The prosecutor, however, objected to bail being granted the accused on grounds of the seriousness and gravity of the offence, and the penalty attached to the felony. He said that police facts differ from those detailed by the defence, in that the weapon and ammunition were found in the pants crotch of the accused when police swooped down on the premises and carried out a search on the property.

The accused was refused bail, and was remanded to prison until May 22, 2017.