Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Guard freed of gun charge

Published:Thursday | May 4, 2023 | 1:15 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter

A security guard implicated in last June’s seizure of an illegal weapon found in his stepdaughter’s schoolbag in Rockfort, Kingston, was yesterday freed of gun charges.

The 38-year-old Kevin Lewis, of a Windward Road address in Kingston 16, was found not guilty of illegal possession of firearm and illegal possession of ammunition after Justice Chester Stamp upheld a no-case submission by his lawyer, Courtney Rowe.

Lewis and the 15-year-old girl were arrested and charged after a 9mm pistol, along with a magazine containing eleven 9mm rounds of ammunition, was found in the teenager’s bag during a vehicular checkpoint operation conducted by members of the Joint Anti-Gang Task Force. Lewis was the driver.

During the operation, a man fled from the vehicle and was never located.

The teen was earlier freed after the prosecution offered no evidence against her.

During the two-day trial, the investigating officer testified that the schoolgirl, after being cautioned about the offences said, “A mi stepfather – the driver – tell me to put it in my bag.”

A female police officer also gave evidence in which she corroborated the investigating officer’s account.

Rowe, however, highlighted several discrepancies in their accounts during cross-examination.

He also suggested to the female officer that she colluded with her colleague to “cook up a case” against his client.

Rowe, however, argued during his no-case submissions that although Lewis was present when the gun was found, the schoolgirl’s alleged utterance alone was not sufficient to prove Lewis’ intent of being in joint possession.

After his submissions, the judge noted that the discrepancies in the evidence of the two police witnesses contradicted each other on “integral areas”.

The judge also agreed that the evidence presented was insufficient to convict the defendant and handed down a formal not-guilty verdict.

Attorney-at-law John Jacob also represented Lewis.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com