Winter pleads guilty in gun case

Omarie Winter has pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of explosives and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The 19-year-old answered to the gun offences when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, February 1.

Magistrate Ayanna Batiste-DaBreo further remanded him, pending sentencing next week Friday (February 10).

Police said they recovered a 45 millimetre firearm and a loaded magazine while executing a search warrant at a residence in Nibbs Estate (Long Trench) that Winter occupied.

The offender was one of five persons held during the operation on January 31. However, he was the only one hauled before the court in relation to the find.

The police, who said investigations are continuing, reported that the other four suspects were released.

At the time Winter was arrested and charged, Commissioner of Police Michael Matthews expressed delight.

“Not only were we able to remove yet another illegal firearm from our streets, but charges were laid in the matter. I consider this a success not only for my officers, but for the people who count on us to keep our communities safe,” he said.

According the territory’s updated gun laws, keeping an unlicensed firearm now carries a minimum penalty of five years imprisonment or a $50,000 fine.

In the meantime, Winter was recently released from custody in relation to an ongoing 2015 case in which he and other young men were held allegedly with an illegal gun in the Ghetto/Crabbe Lot area of Road Town.