THE THEFT of two licensed firearms earlier this year from vehicles parked in downtown Kingston, has resulted in the police charging the owners with negligence.Kenneth Gordon, retired building contractor of Nine Miles, Bull Bay, St. Andrew, and Garnett Palmer, 46, businessman of a Kingston 19 address, were charged on Tuesday.
The police said that on March 31, between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., Mr. Gordon parked his vehicle near the intersection of Church Street and Ocean Boulevard, with his licensed .38 calibre revolver locked in it. When he returned the gun was missing.
On April 9, between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Mr. Palmer parked his vehicle near the same intersection, with his licensed 9 mm pistol hidden under the driver's seat. The gun was missing when he returned.
"Far too many persons are losing guns in this manner, in downtown Kingston," a senior detective at the Kingston Central CIB told The Gleaner yesterday.
The police are advising licensed firearm holders to either lock their guns in their vaults at home or leave the guns at the nearest police station.
A report from the Constabulary Communication Network said that at least 60 licensed firearms have been stolen since January, from both the firearm holders and from policemen.
The list of stolen firearms include an M-16 assault rifle which was stolen two weeks ago from a policeman in Clarendon who was shot by the robber.
The stolen firearms include two shotguns, 25 semi-automatic pistols and 32 revolvers.
