Courts ‘must get tough’ on gun crime

That’s why State Counsel Paul Prescod believes that two men who pleaded guilty to having five guns, one a large calibre Desert Eagle handgun, should get starting sentences of 15 years or more.

“Barbados has almost 30 murders this year, the majority at the hands of the gun, and we have five guns coming into Barbados in sugar, something that is made in Barbados.

“If those guns had got into Barbados, I shudder to think what would have happened,” he said.

Prescod was speaking as Dario Davone Daone Oliver and Jason Antonio Barrow yesterday reappeared in the No. 4 Supreme Court.

Oliver, a painter, of Wotton, Christ Church, and Barrow, a car washer, of Ashby Land, Lodge Road, Christ Church, had initially opted for a trial but, after a day of evidence, changed their pleas to guilty to having a .50 AE-calibre Desert Eagle pistol and four 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistols, as well as seven rounds of ammunition in their possession on August 8, 2018.

Oliver also changed his plea to guilty to importing the .50 AE-calibre Desert Eagle pistol, the four 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistols, as well as the seven rounds of ammunition between August 1 and 8, 2018.

Neither has previous convictions. Oliver was represented by Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens, Barrow by attorney Neville Reid, while Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale, SC, and Prescod appeared for the prosecution.

“Every time we look around, somebody is getting shot and they aren’t getting shot with a paper gun,” Prescod said in his submissions on sentence.

“We have to be serious in Barbados,” he said, noting a Desert Eagle was a powerful gun.

“Enough is enough. It has to stop somewhere. The buck stops in the court.”

The prosecutor said if the two were asking for fines, then “it would have to be over $1 million in fines. It cannot be $250 000. Not with five guns”.

He added that the two gunmen would “have reaped a lot of money” if they had successfully imported the guns.

“If everybody in Barbados decided to bring in guns for money, we would be in a war zone,” he said.

Prescod noted the offences had crossed the threshold for the imposition of custodial sentences.

He suggested that Oliver, who he described as the partial mastermind, should get a starting sentence of 20 years, while Barrow, who he said played a secondary role, should start at 15 years.

He disagreed with Mitchell-Gittens, who suggested her client Oliver should benefit from the full one-third discount for the guilty plea.

Testing the system

“Far too often these persons test the system to see what is going to happen, to see if there are any technicalities in the

case,” he said.

“But all the guns were displayed to the jury and three or four witnesses had testified, so they can’t have a one-third discount,” he said, as he suggested a one-fifth discount for the guilty plea.

The prosecutor then said the two should be credited for the mitigating features in the matters and the time they spent on remand.

Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell will sentence Barrow and Oliver on September 19.

Mitchell-Gittens earlier told the court Oliver had fully cooperated with police and later pleaded guilty which was a “clear expression of remorse”.

She asked that he be given the full one-third discount despite his plea coming after the trial had commenced. She also said his family was willing and on standby to pay any fine.

The court had heard both men went to Shed II at the Bridgetown Port to collect two barrels containing personal effects. Previously, Oliver had gone to his broker and collected the documents. On August 8, 2018, he presented those documents, which stated the barrels were shipped from Florida, United States, to a Customs officer.

The seals were broken in the Customs officer’s presence and the contents, including cans of food stuff, were removed.

Another officer, from the Customs Enforcement Department, came over to enquire about Barrow’s presence, who then indicated he was there to “show Dario around”.

The officer asked Oliver who had shipped the barrels to him and he replied his aunt. He said her name was on the supporting documents and she lived “in L.A. but she does move around often”.

The Customs officers became suspicious. They further examined three yellow and white paper bags labelled Domino Sugar. Two were in one barrel, one was in the other. The Customs officer noticed the contents appeared to be solid.

When they examined the three bags, they found five guns, one of which was disassembled, and a quantity of ammunition. Police were called.

Oliver later told police: “A man send me to collect some guns but I didn’t know it was so many.”

He further said, in relation to the documents: “I had to get them to clear the barrels with the guns.”

Barrow, when asked to account for his presence, said: “I came to help Dario help clear the guns. I have to admit I am partially responsible for this.” (HLE)