ROSEAU, DOMINICA-Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Sherma Dalrymple has hailed the dismissal of an appeal of Darrel Holder Samuel by the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean as a “warning to persons who are holders of illegal firearms and ammunition.”
Darrel Holden Samuel, 23 years old of Petite Savanne but who resides in Bellevue Chopin in August 2022, was sentenced to two years in Prison by Senior Magistrate Michael Laudat after he pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition without being the holder of an ammunition license and having 0.7 grams of cocaine.
In his grounds of appeal led by his lawyer Wayne Norde, the appellant stated that his sentence was “manifestly excessive.”
According to his lawyer, “a fine ought to have been imposed instead of the custodial sentence, because (1) he pleaded guilty, (2) he was a first-time offender aged 23, and (3) the Learned Magistrate ought not to have emphasized the prevalence of the offence in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
However, the office of the DPP, led by the Learned DPP, opposed the appeal.
The Court of Appeal Judges rejected the arguments of the appellant and ruled that “the custodial sentence imposed by the Learned Magistrate was indeed proper, and a sentencing court has every right to consider the prevalence of the offence.”
According to the Judges, “a custodial sentence was proper regarding all the circumstances.” The court also ruled that a Magistrate can deviate from the sentencing guidelines, providing that reasons are given and there are also exceptional circumstances that exist.
In commenting on the dismissal of the appeal by the Appeals Court, DPP Dalrymple views it as “a critical tool against the fight of illegal firearms in Dominica since this ruling has now given Magistrates the go-ahead to impose custodial sentences instead of fines and defer from the sentencing guidelines when so doing.”
“It must also be noted that this case dealt with the illegal possession of ammunition and a custodial sentence was given, and it was upheld by the Court of Appeal,” the DPP stated.
Facts
On Thursday, August 4, 2022, members of the Anti-Crime Task Force were armed with a search warrant in the name of Samuel and went to his home at about 5 am on the said date. After surrounding the house to ensure it was safe, one officer knocked on the door and identified himself, and told Samuel of the warrant he had to search his premises.
He was also asked if he had anything “illegal,” and he replied “no.”
In the presence of Samuel, a search was conducted and, in his bedroom, one clear zip lock bag containing what appeared to be ‘cocaine” was found along with 3 live 9mm rounds of ammunition in blue underwear marked “Leopoldo,” one .38 Winchester spent shell was also found. When asked if he had anything to say about what was found he replied, “on the road, I get that.”
He was further questioned about the ammunition found, and he replied, “A fella cranked his gun three times and they fell, and I picked it up on the Bay Front.” Asked if he was the holder of a firearms and ammunition license, he replied, “No, Officer.”
The police continued the search and found 5 live rounds of 12-gauge ammunition in the ceiling of the defendant’s house. Asked about it, he replied, “I don’t know how that reached there.”
He was arrested and brought to police headquarters, where the alleged cocaine was weighed and amounted to 0.7 grams. The alleged cocaine was sent for testing and returned positive.
Mitigation
He pleaded guilty to the charges and asked the court to be merciful to him, but he was reminded about the use of firearms used in the commissioning of crimes in the country and that the court was duty bound to take note of what is happening and send a clear message of its disapproval of the use of drugs and illegal firearms and ammunition in the country.
Sentence
For the possession of illegal ammunition without being the holder of a firearms license, he was sentenced to two (2) years in jail, and for the possession of cocaine, he was slapped with a fine of $2,500.00 to be paid by January 31, 2023, or in default, six (6) months in prison.