US firefighter charged after gun, ammunition seized at Sangster Airport
/ Our Today
administratorForty-eight-year-old Roland Douglas II, a firefighter of Guntersville, Alabama, United States of America, has been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and unauthorised possession of ammunition following the seizure of a firearm at Sangster International Airport on Sunday, September 14.
Reports are that about 12:45 pm, Douglas’s checked luggage was screened when at the Montego Bay airport, when an anomaly was detected. A search in his presence revealed a disassembled silver and black Sig Sauer .380 pistol, two magazines, and thirteen rounds of .380 ammunition. He was subsequently arrested and charged. His court date is being finalised.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of Jamaica’s recently updated Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, which imposes mandatory prison sentences of at least 15 years for gun-related offences.
The law, which was passed to strengthen penalties and curb the island’s gun violence epidemic, has already resulted in several high-profile convictions.
However, it remains to be seen whether the stiff penalties will be uniformly applied in cases involving foreign nationals or if enforcement will primarily affect local offenders.
Gun-related crimes account for more than 80 per cent of murders in Jamaica annually, and the government has repeatedly signalled that it will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal firearms.
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