Despite the Prosecution’s request for a custodial sentence, in light of the current atmosphere regarding gun-related crimes and homicides here, construction supervisor Khanroy Chewitt of Park Hill escaped a prison sentence on Monday for firearm and ammunition possession.
After listening to a mitigation plea from Chewitt’s lawyer Grant Connell, a response from Prosecutor Corlene Samuel, and scrutinizing two medical reports on the 65-year-old man’s condition, Senior Magistrate Colin John opted to impose a fine, rather than a custodial sentence.
Chewitt was fined $15,000 for illegal possession of a .25 Titan pistol and $10,000 for possession of 19 rounds of .25 ammunition.
Both fines are to be paid by Monday, January 22, with an alternative of two years in prison on each charge. The sentences will run concurrently if the fines are not paid.
Chewitt, who resides in the United States pleaded guilty to the charges on his return to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday. He had pleaded not guilty to both charges when he initially appeared at that Court on January 8, and the Senior Magistrate adjourned the matter to January 12, at Connell’s request. In the interim, Chewitt was granted $5,000 bail with one surety, but the matter was further adjourned to Monday, January 15.
Chewitt was arrested around 5:10 a.m. on January 6, during a joint operation by the Narcotics Unit, and the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), which was led by Inspector Nolan Dalaway of the RRU.
The officers executed a search warrant at the Park Hill home of the defendant, who was met there, and during a search of his bedroom, they found multiple shoes packed together under a dressing table. The shoes were searched, and one was found to contain a sock that felt heavy. The officers took out the contents during which they found a .25 Titan pistol. They also noticed a box in the sock which when opened revealed the 19 rounds of .25 ammunition.
Initially, Chewitt denied that the gun and ammunition belonged to him, saying that he did not live there, but later told the police that he would take responsibility for the items because they were found on his property.
In his mitigation plea, Connell requested a fine or suspended sentence. He pointed out that the Firearms Act states that a person could be fined up to $20,000 with an alternative of seven years in prison, and could also be fined and confined for firearm or ammunition possession. He added that while the Firearms Act does not speak to the applicability of a suspended sentence for firearms or ammunition possession, section 30(2) of the Criminal Code says that a suspended sentence shall be denied if a person is in possession of an illegal firearm at the time of the commissioner of the offense.
Connell also told the Court that the defendant had a serious medical issue that could not be addressed here, given this country’s limitation in the area of health care. He said this must be addressed with some level of urgency, and beyond these shores.
Connell presented two medical reports to the Court, one from Chewitt’s doctor in the United States, and the other from a local doctor. He said sending his client to prison could be a catalyst for his demise.
The lawyer said the offences should fall in category 3 in terms of consequences, and the medium level, in terms of seriousness. He suggested a starting of 40 percent of the maximum penalty which is about 32 months, and asked the Court to go downwards, expressing the view that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating. He contended that every case must be dealt with according to the factual matrix.
“There is no victim in this case, and he (Chewitt) cannot be a danger to the public because he lives elsewhere. He has walked the straight and narrow path for 65 years. The role of the law is not just to fill the jails”, the lawyer said. He added that Chewitt cooperated with the police, had no previous convictions, and pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity.
But Prosecutor Samuel in her response, requested a prison sentence, stressing the prevalence of gun crimes and murders here, as well as the public’s interest. She pointed out that the sentencing guidelines did not say that a person who is sick, or of a certain age cannot go to prison. She stressed a large number of ammunition with which Chewitt was found.
In countering Connell’s argument for a suspended sentence, the prosecutor said that suspended sentences were not applicable to firearms and ammunition possession.
But the Senior Magistrate said he was not going to look at that issue because he had no intention of imposing a suspended sentence. He said he looked at the medical document, and he would not question what the experts said.
“I am inclined to accept their (doctors’) recommendations, and what was said before”, the Magistrate contended, adding that each case must be assessed on its own set of facts and circumstances. He then imposed the fines.
