By Today Newspaper
GREAT BAY – Two weapons dealers got off with lighter sentences in the Court in First Instance yesterday morning, because the court ruled that the two suspects had not completed their deal. The court sentenced both men however for firearm possession.
Narlyson Renaldo Flanders, a 33-year old who lives in French quarter, was sentenced to 30 months, with 12 months suspended. The prosecution demanded a 4-year prison term at the trial bon December 3.
Flanders’ co-defendant Ricardo Gumbs received a 12-month prison sentence, of which 4 months are suspended. This is well below the 18 months the prosecution demanded. For both men, the court imposed 3 years of probation.
The court considers Flanders as “an illegal provider of firearms” who had several illegal firearms in his possession and who had also fired these weapons. “He entered the illegal firearm market purely for financial motives,” the court notes in its ruling. “Firearms are a plague on the island and possession and trade must be combated firmly.”
Flanders had a criminal record – a sentence for an armed robbery that resulted in the death of the victim.
Gumbs was a go-between in the illegal arms trade, the court ruled. “He made pictures of weapons not as a hobby but for trade-motives.” Gumbs also has a criminal record, but the ruling does not specify previous convictions.
Lighter sentence for arms dealer
