Lawyer freed of loss of firearms charges
Published:Friday | July 23, 2021 | 12:10 AM
Attorney-at-law, 36-year-old Tara Morgan of a Montego Bay address, was yesterday freed of all charges in relation to the loss of 19 firearms and a large quantity of ammunition.
The lawyer, who was the director of a security company based in Montego Bay, was charged with failing to have a secure place for the storage of the firearms and ammunition.
It was reported that on May 25, 2019, the security company was broken into and the firearms and ammunition stolen. Following this, an audit was conducted by officers from the Firearm Licensing Authority. The audit revealed that the premises was not properly secured and was poorly maintained.
However, at the trial, under cross-examination, Morgan's attorney, Queen's Counsel Peter Champagnie, suggested to the main witness for the prosecution that taking all into account, the premises was secured even though the witness had previously stated that it wasn't. The witness agreed with the suggestion.
It was further revealed under cross-examination that there were no written regulations governing the specific breaches that covered the areas that gave rise to a view that the premises was not properly secured.
At the end of the cross-examination, the prosecution was constrained to offer no further evidence against Morgan.
The matter was heard in the St James Parish Court.