Soldier on ammo charge goes to jail

A 23-year-old soldier spent last night in jail after he failed to secure $140,000 bail on a charge of possession of 60 rounds of 5.62 ammunition. Private Ronald Remy, who is attached to the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment at Chaguaramas, was arrested by police on the Lady Young Road in Morvant, on Sunday. The Morvant resident yesterday appeared before Magistrate Avason Quinlan in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrates’ Court charged with being in possession of the ammunition, and not being the holder of a firearm user’s licence he was not exempted under the Firearms Act. He was not called on to plead when the charge was read to him. Attorney Keith Scotland, who appeared for Remy, said his client had been in the Regiment for the past three and a half years. Scotland asked that his client be granted bail and that he be placed in the custody of the Regiment, because the army had an interest in the matter. Scotland said Remy’s commanding officer Lt Celestine was in court and would accept custody. The defence attorney said Remy has one child, he has a permanent place of abode and that he was not a flight risk.

He said the Regiment will ensure that Remy is brought to court on the next occasion. Magistrate Quinlan asked, “Why should I place him in the custody of the Regiment? Why should I do that? I will place him on bail with a surety, that is what I will do?” Scotland replied, “The Regiment can detain him there and bring him to court whenever the case is called.” However, Scotland accepted the soldier’s fate when he realised he could not convince the magistrate otherwise. The magistrate then placed Remy on $140,000 bail with a surety to be approved by the Clerk of the Peace. She then adjourned the case to July 5. But despite efforts by the soldier to secure bail, he remained in custody. He was among the last batch of prisoners to leave the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court around 5 pm yesterday. He was placed in a prison van and taken to the Port-of-Spain State Prison for the night. Remy was one of two soldiers held over the weekend for possession of ammunition. The other soldier appeared in the Arima District Court yesterday.