Soldier charged with arms, ammo

A 40-year-old soldier appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate yesterday charged with possession of arms and ammunition. Appearing before Magistrate Avason Quinlan in the city’s Four B Court was Ricardo Stephenson, an army private, of Mi Trace, El Socorro. Stephenson, who was arrested on Christmas Eve, was granted bail in the sum of $120,000. The charge stated that on December 24, at Saddle Road, San Juan, Stephenson was held with a .38 pistol, three rounds of 9 mm ammunition and two rounds of .38 ammunition. After the charge was read, Stephenson pleaded not guilty to the charge. Attorney Theodore Guerra SC, who appeared for the accused asked that he be released into the custody of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.

Guerra said, “My only concern is that once my client is granted bail, and still has to carry out duties as assigned by the Defence Force, his court dates are likely to clash with his duties. If he has court on a day he is assigned duties, then it would be an offence for him not to go on his duties.” However, Quinlan was not moved by the attorney’s submission, and insisted that the court has never allowed a person to be released into the custody of the Defence Force by simply allowing an army officer to sign a bail order. “The court takes precedence, Mr Guerra. He has a duty to inform the army when he has to come to court. He is charged with a criminal offence and will be treated like any other accused. The court does not want to get involved in the army’s affairs,” said Quinlan. Stephenson was then granted bail and had his matter adjourned to January 6, 2006. Checks up to press time revealed that Stephenson was unable to secure his bail, and was remanded at the Maximum Security Prison.