Dad fires gun to save son from beating

Hyacinth appeared before Senior Magistrate Margaret Alert in the San Fernando Magistrates’ court, charged with possession of an unlicensed pistol and ammunition, and firing a gun within 40 meters of a public road. He pleaded guilty to all three charges.

The magistrate heard from court prosecutor Sgt Denzil Alexander, that at about 5.40 am on Sunday, Hyacinth saw men beating his 18-year-old son at the front of Club Mumbai located along the SS Erin Road in Debe.

Hyacinth, the court heard, whipped out a gun from his waist and fired several shots in the air. He then threw the gun away and ran to the Debe Police Post. Constable Sandeep Maraj investigated and later recovered the gun and two spent shells.

Hyacinth was cautioned, the magistrate heard, and he told PC Maraj: “Officer, they start beating up my son, pelting bottle as if to kill him. I take out my gun shoot in the air to get them off my son.” Attorney Subhas Panday said his client had no criminal record and no pending charges. Magistrate Alert told Hyacinth that while she holds some empathy for him, as he responded to his son being attacked, however, there could have been dire, even deadly consequences for his actions.

“You could have been standing here before me on a murder charge,” the magistrate said. For possession of a gun, Hyacinth was ordered to pay $3,500 and for the ammunition, $1,500.

On the charge of discharging the firearm in a public place, he was placed on own bail in the sum of $15,000 to return to court on May 9, after the Magistrate changed his guilty plea to one of not-guilty.