WESTMORELAND:
A 24 YEAR-old labourer, David Williams, was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment at hard labour on four gun-related charges when his case ended in the Western Regional Gun Court on Thursday.
Williams, of 135 Darling Street, Savanna-la-Mar and Little London, Westmoreland, will serve seven and five years respectively on two counts of illegal possession of firearm, five years for illegal possession of ammunition, and 10 years for shooting with intent. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The case, as presented before the court, was that on November 6, 2002, the police, acting on information, went to Shaolin, a captured land settlement at 135 Darling Street in Savanna-la-Mar. Police said they saw Williams carrying a bag, which he dropped when the police approached him. The police challenged him, but he ran and escaped in nearby bushes.
Police said they picked up the bag and found in it a homemade shotgun, another firearm and four rounds of 12 gauge cartridges. The police said they returned to the area later that day and Williams opened fire at them. The police returned the fire but he escaped.
A warrant was eventually issued for Williams' arrest. He was picked up at West End Road, Negril on March 9 this year and charged.
Attorney-at-law Raymond King represented Williams. The Crown was represented by Suzette Rogers, while Mr. Justice Howard Cooke Jnr. presided.
