Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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IN THE GRAND COURT OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
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CRIMINAL SIDE
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IND NO: 0008/2020
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REGINA
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v.
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KURT STEVENSON CARTER
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Appearances:
Mrs. Nicole Petit for the Crown
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Mr. Crister Brady of Brady Attorneys for
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the Defendant
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Before:
Justice Roger Chapple (Actg.)
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Heard:
27th April 2021
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HEADNOTE
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Criminal Law – Possession of an Imitation Firearm with Intent to commit and
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Offence – s.18(6) of the Firearms Act – Discount for guilty plea.
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SENTENCE JUDGMENT
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Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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1.
This case has a long history. You faced a number of serious charges, as a result of a
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number of offences, said to have taken place on 30th of December 2019. Following
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a jury trial, which lasted some weeks, you were found not guilty of all the charges to
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which you had pleaded not guilty. Needless to say, I ignore completely all of those
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allegations. But on the first day of the trial, you pleaded guilty to an offence of
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possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence, that is to say, to
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cause by your behaviour harassment, alarm or distress. And it is for that offence that
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I must now pass sentence upon you.
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2.
I make it clear that I pass sentence, accepting as I do, the handwritten Basis of Plea
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(BOP) signed by you.
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3.
I should add that you sent a document to this court – received by the Court on the
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22nd April 2021 but dated the 8th April 2021 entitled “Applicant submits prepared
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statement”.
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4.
Defence counsel, Mr Brady, asks that I ignore that document and you confirmed to
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me that that was your wish. I have therefore put it from my mind.
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5.
There is no Social Inquiry Report (SIR) in this case. A sentence of imprisonment is
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altogether inevitable. That being so, as Mr Brady sensibly agrees, the assistance I
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would derive from such a report would be limited.
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6.
The circumstances of your possession of this imitation firearm on 30th December
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2019 emerge clearly from good quality CCTV footage recovered from cameras
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covering the exterior of Bananas Bar. Since hearing sentencing submissions on 27th
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April 2021, I have again viewed that footage.
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Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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7.
The offence for which I have to sentence you, I bear firmly in mind, alleges
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possession of an imitation, rather than a genuine firearm. That said, as can be seen
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from the footage, it is a very realistic looking handgun.
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As you accept in your BOP, and is clear from the footage, you discharged that
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handgun twice. On both occasions, an explosive flash appears at the end of the barrel.
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It is then highly likely that the weapon was capable of ejecting a projectile with force.
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The CCTV footage shows you displaying that imitation firearm to your audience
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with apparent pride, for their admiration and approval. There is no evidence as to
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what the conversation was between you and those outside Bananas whilst you were
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displaying and demonstrating that weapon, but it is obvious, from gestures and
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expressions, that you and they were effectively revelling in gun culture. It very much
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looks as though you wanted to impress them - and that, sadly, they were impressed.
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To that extent I agree with Mr Brady’s submission that your friends or associates
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were not alarmed or distressed by your possession or use of the imitation firearm.
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However, as you properly accept in your BOP, you used that weapon in a manner
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that did in fact cause harassment, alarm or distress and that was your intention.
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10.
The place where you discharged that weapon, just outside Bananas, is on Eastern
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Avenue, often a busy road, although this was the early hours of the morning, when
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traffic was likely to have been light. That said, anyone witnessing what you did –
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discharging a very realistic-looking handgun twice, would be distressed, to say the
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very least of it.
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Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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11.
There can be no legitimate reason for being in possession of this weapon. As I have
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said, but it bears repeating, this was a very realistic looking handgun, capable of
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ejecting a projectile with force.
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It has not been recovered and thus remains in circulation. As Lord Bingham
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emphasised in R v Bentham1,
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“While an imitation firearm lacks the capacity of a real loaded firearm to kill or
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injure, it has much the same capacity to frighten and enforce compliance, not
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least because many imitations are almost indistinguishable from the real thing
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and those threatened have little opportunity or inclination to examine the nature
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of the weapon used.”
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Gun crime on these islands is a source of very serious concern.
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13.
You are now 32 years of age. You are no stranger to these courts. You started
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appearing before the courts in 2008. You have on several occasions served sentences
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of imprisonment for drug offences, offences of dishonesty and violence. In 2014,
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you were sentenced in the Summary Court, as adjusted by the Grand Court, to 7 ½
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years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to supply cocaine.
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14.
This offence was committed in breach of a suspended sentence for an offence of
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assault occasioning actual bodily harm, imposed on 18th July 2019 and in breach of
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a good behaviour bond imposed on 28th October 2019, just two months earlier. You
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were also on bail for another offence at the time, although it is right to note that the
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prosecution in that case eventually offered no evidence against you.
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There are no Cayman Islands guidelines for offences involving imitation firearms.
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Had this been a genuine firearm, you would now be facing a minimum sentence of
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seven years’ imprisonment, absent any exceptional circumstances.
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1 [2005] 1WLR 1057
Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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16.
I have been referred to the England and Wales Sentencing Guidelines. Although the
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approach suggested by those guidelines and a list of aggravating and mitigating
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features have been of some assistance, overall the suggested starting point and
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sentencing range, as set out there, are not, unusually, of any particular help as, the
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maximum sentences are different, the statutory minimum sentencing regime for
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genuine firearms is different and the nature of the problem of gun crime is different.
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I have helpfully been referred to the authority of R v Avis2 and the well-known
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questions that must always be addressed in firearms cases. I can summarise the
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answers to those questions very shortly:
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i.
This was an imitation firearm that looked very much like a genuine
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firearm;
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ii.
It was loaded and discharged twice;
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iii.
The intention with which you possessed it was to cause harassment
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alarm or distress.
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iv.
You have, as I have already mentioned, an extensive criminal record.
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Albeit you have no previous convictions for firearms offences, you have
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for very many years chosen to live outside the law.
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I have also been referred to, and much assisted by, the case of R v Welcome3 in which
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Dobbs, J (Actg.) conducted a thorough review of sentencing authorities involving
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imitation firearms.
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2 [1998] 1 Cr App R 420
3 Ind. 57/16: R v. Welcome (Jonathon) - Dame Linda Dobbs, Acting Judge, dated 15th December 2016
Sentence Judgment: R v. Carter (Kurt Stevenson). Ind. 0008/2020. Coram: Chapple J. (Actg.). Date:
25.05.2021
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19.
You are entitled to some credit for having pleaded guilty to this offence, although
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given that you did so only at the start of the trial, that credit must be reduced. You
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had earlier pleaded not guilty. Mr Brady urges that, nevertheless, this is a case for
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full credit, since it was only very late in the day, at the suggestion of the trial judge,
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that this additional charge was added to the indictment. It was of course always open
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to you to offer a guilty plea to this offence and, it must be said, given the CCTV
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footage, the evidence against you is overwhelming. In my judgement, the appropriate
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credit to reflect your guilty plea in this case is 20%.
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Taking into account all the matters I have discussed, had you pleaded not guilty but
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been convicted, the sentence I would have passed is one of seven years’
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imprisonment. Albeit that this was not a genuine firearm, I emphasise again that the
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fact that it was fired twice in a public place is a substantial aggravating feature.
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Giving you credit for your guilty plea, I reduce that sentence to one of 5 years’ and
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7 months’ imprisonment.
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I also activate in full the 3-month suspended sentence imposed on 18th July 2019.
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That will run consecutively, making a total sentence of 5 years and 10 months’
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imprisonment.
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I order that all time spent in custody in relation to this offence shall count towards
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the serving of the sentence.
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Dated this the 25th day of May 2021
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Justice Roger Chapple
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Acting Judge of the Grand Court