A man who pleaded guilty to five charges, including armed robbery and possession of an illegal gun and ammo, was today sentenced to thirteen years in prison but will instead spend three after he was handed concurrent sentences.
Joshua Joseph appeared before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The first charge against him stated that, on May 29, 2019 at Hadfield Street, Georgetown, he had in his possession one .38 gauge revolver without being the holder of a firearm licence.
The second charge stated that, on the same day and at the same location, he had in his possession four live rounds of .38 ammunition when he was not a licenced firearm holder.
The latter three charges stated that on May 29, 2019 at Water Street, Georgetown, Joseph, while being in the company of another and armed with a gun, robbed Zabid Amid, Parsaram Persaud, and Seecherran Deosaran of a quantity of cash and phones. The three victims are all vendors.
Joseph pleaded guilty to all the charges after they were read to him.
Facts presented by Police Prosecutor Sanj Singh stated that, on the day in question, Joseph approached the vendors with a gun and robbed them of their valuables.
In a bid to escape, he ran towards Hadfield Street, Georgetown and an alarm was raised. The victims and public-spirited persons ran after Joseph and he jumped over a fence, causing dogs to attack him. He then dropped the gun in an attempt to fight off the dogs.
Joseph was then apprehended and taken into custody. Magistrate Daly sentenced Joseph to three years in prison on each of the robbery charges, and another two years each for the illegal gun and ammunition possession charges. His sentence was therefore 13 years in total.
However, Joseph’s sentences will run concurrently and he will only spend three years behind bars.
