Youth with gun on probation

A 16-YEAR-OLD pupil of a secondary school in Central Trinidad who was found with a loaded gun in his book bag on Monday, was yesterday placed on probation for two years by a Chaguanas magistrate. The Form Five pupil had pleaded guilty before Magistrate Carol Ann Thomas to charges of possession of a .38 revolver and six rounds of ammunition. The magistrate on Tuesday remanded the youth into the custody at the Youth Training Centre for tracing. The charge alleged that the youth had the gun in his schoolbag while on the school’s compound around 1.30 pm. An MTS security guard searched his bag and found the loaded gun.

When the pupil appeared before Magistrate Thomas on Tuesday, he was represented by attorney Edmund Subryan. The attorney told the magistrate that the youth found the loaded gun in the school’s male  toilet and kept it because he wanted to show it to his friends. He had kicked open the door to the boys’ toilet and it slammed against the tiles. The attorney said that one of the tiles broke off and the youth saw a jersey lodged in the space where the tile was. The youth unwrapped the jersey and found the loaded gun. He then placed it in his bag.

In a plea for leniency, Subryan told Thomas that the youth was now starting his life and he had no previous or pending matters. The attorney said the youth was a member of a steel orchestra and attended church regurlarly. Yesterday Magistrate Thomas issued a stern warning to the youth, saying that he could have been sent to jail for ten years. But in justifying placing him on probation, the magistrate said she took into consideration his age and the fact that he was a first time offender. The teen was charged by PC Basraj of the Freeport Police Station. Insp Ashton Clark prosecuted the charge.