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A 55-year-old Rural Constable (RC) held for an illegal shotgun and cartridges on Christmas Eve Day, has been remanded to jail by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.Arthur Thorne, of Parika, East Bank Essequibo appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday to respond to two counts of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition.According to the police, on December 24, last, Thorne, who was unlicensed, was busted with a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and two 12 gauge cartridges at Toroparu, Mazaruni. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and submitted an application for bail through his attorney, Pamela De Santos.In her bid, De Santos informed the Court that her client is the Chairman of a Community Development Council (CDC), the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and also the Chairman for Parika Small Miners’ Association.She contended that her client has no knowledge of the gun and that it was not found in his possession but rather in a clump of bushes.Explaining that there is a rivalry among the mining camps, De Santos claimed that the person who reported to the police knows of the illegal weapon and its components.According to the Prosecution,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, however, around 06:30 hours that day, the police received information that someone discharged a firearm in the area. Grant explained that ranks conducted searches on three mining camps and it was the defendant who took them into a track and handed over the firearm which was in some bushes near Thorne’s mining camp.The Prosecutor explained that Thorne had claimed that the firearm belonged to a man named “Max” but when the police contacted Max, the man denied it. Following investigations, the father of eight was charged with the offence.Bail was refused and the matter was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court for January 8, 2015. |
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