Freetown man jailed for flare gun
By Latrishka Thomas A 33-year-old resident of Freetown was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a modified flare gun and ammunition. Cavel Brown appeared before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel on Tuesday, represented by attorney Sheffield Bowen for sentencing. He had entered guilty pleas to […]
Black News 
By Latrishka Thomas
A 33-year-old resident of Freetown was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a modified flare gun and ammunition.
Cavel Brown appeared before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel on Tuesday, represented by attorney Sheffield Bowen for sentencing.
He had entered guilty pleas to possession of a black Orion modified flare gun and four rounds of 9mm ammunition. The offences occurred in the early hours of May 6, 2026.
In arriving at the sentence, Chief Magistrate Emanuel applied the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Sentencing Guidelines, which require the court to first assess the seriousness of the offence before determining an appropriate penalty.
A critical aggravating factor emerged during proceedings — one round had been found already loaded in the chamber, ready to fire. Under the sentencing guidelines, this automatically places the offending at the highest level of seriousness and increases the starting point for sentencing. With a maximum sentence of five years applicable to the charge, the court set its starting point at 50 percent, equating to two years and six months.
That figure was further elevated by the discovery of a ski mask found alongside the firearm and ammunition. The court noted that a weapon combined with a mask was an indicator of intent to commit armed robbery or a serious violent crime, and added two months to the starting point, bringing the total to two years and eight months.
The court then turned to factors weighing in Brown’s favour. He was a first-time offender with no previous convictions, he cooperated fully with police following his arrest, and demonstrated genuine remorse throughout the proceedings. These mitigating factors earned a reduction of three months, bringing the figure to two years and five months.
Brown’s decision to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity entitled him to a one-third reduction in his sentence, a standard incentive under the guidelines for those who take early responsibility. That reduction brought the sentence to one year, seven months and 13 days.
As Brown faced two separate charges, the court also considered the combined effect of both offences and added a further two months to reflect the ammunition count, arriving at one year, nine months and 13 days. Credit was then applied for the 11 days Brown had already spent on remand, resulting in a final sentence of one year and nine months.
The court further ordered that the modified flare gun and ammunition be lodged with the armoury for confiscation.
