You don’t even want to see a picture of a firearm.
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Those were the last words from Justice Pamela Beckles to first-time gun offender Brandon Cameron Standard after she ordered the 22-year-old to pay $10 000 forthwith for the home-made gun he had last year.
Standard, of Zoares Land, Martins Bay, St John, was in the No. 5 Supreme Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to having the firearm on November 3, 2025.
He was represented by attorney Zaria Taylor, while Senior State Counsel Maya Kellman prosecuted.
Standard apologised to the court and to his family and promised, “I would never be in this situation again”.
Justice Beckles said she had considered the nature and gravity of the offence and the prevalence of such offences in society. She also considered that Standard had the gun in a public place and attempted to evade capture.
The judge, however, noted she did not consider the fact that the gun was removed from the streets as a mitigating factor because “it wasn’t taken off the streets through any help from the accused”.
Justice Beckles said she had determined that eight years was the appropriate starting point for the sentence. She then deducted two years for the mitigating features, one-third for guilty plea and the time he spent on remand.
She dismissed defence attorney Taylor’s plea that the fact the weapon was home-made, and not a high-powered one, be taken into consideration.
“This thing looked like a real firearm. This doesn’t look like a home-made firearm. The message must be sent that these type of offences will be dealt with severely,” the judge declared.
She ordered Standard to pay $10 000 forthwith or spend the remaining 1 253 days in prison.
Kellman, in outlining the evidence, said lawmen were patrolling in a police vehicle when they saw several men liming at a shop in Gall Hill, St John. Standard was one of them and ran when he saw police, who gave chase. They caught him, searched him and found the illegal weapon hidden in his groin area.
When he was asked to account for having it, he told police: “That is for my personal protection.”
When interviewed on camera, Standard told them he found the weapon “along the coastline at Martins Bay”.
When lawmen asked why he had not turned it in, he said: “When I first found it, that thought did cross my mind but, due to the ongoing state of affairs on the island, I decide to hold onto it.” (HLE)