Prisoner gets sentence reduction by Court of Appeal over delayed transcript

A prisoner who had to wait three years before the transcript of his trial was sent to the Court of Appeal has been compensated with a one-year reduction in his sentence for the delay.

Andra Grant, 35, a bartender and an assistant teacher, was convicted in the Western Regional Gun Court in Montego Bay, St James on March 23, 2017.

He was sentenced on April 5, 2017, to 10 years imprisonment for illegal possession of firearm and 12 months' imprisonment for assault, with the sentences to run concurrently.

By a majority decision, Grant's appeal was dismissed last week but, at the same time, his sentence was reduced to seven years.

The transcript was sent to the Court of Appeal in 2020 and the court said it took off one year because of the delay in receiving the document.

Allegations

Grant was found guilty of pointing a gun at a man in an exotic club in Duncans, Trelawny on the night of April 3, 2015.

The complainant was sitting beside one of the exotic dancers and Grant told him to move away from her because he was preventing her from making money.

The complainant said Grant threatened him and then pulled a firearm out of a bag and pointed it at him.

The complainant ran to the Duncans Police Station and reported the matter.  

The police searched the premises but no gun was found.

Grant was arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearm and assault at common law.

Grant denied the allegations and said during the argument he only pointed his finger at the complainant.

Following his conviction and sentence, Grant filed an appeal on April 23, 2017, on the grounds that the verdict was unreasonable and the sentence was manifestly excessive.

Appeal

Attorney-at-law Chad Lawrence of the firm Samuda and Johnson, who represented Grant on appeal, argued that the judge failed to address the jury's mind to the issue of previous inconsistent statements which deprived Grant of an acquittal.

He submitted that the judge erred in law and fact in finding that the complainant did not have the intelligence to fabricate a story about Grant.

He also argued that the judge omitted to follow sentencing guidelines and handed down a sentence that was manifestly excessive.

The Crown opposed the submissions for an acquittal on the basis that Grant's complaints were without merit.

Decision

The court found that there was no basis shown on which it would be appropriate to find that the trial judge was in error when she made her assessment.

The court said the judge directly addressed the issue that the gun was not found and spoke to the fact that the appellant had time within which to hide the gun before the police arrived.

“The finding was clearly open to the trial judge on the evidence before her,” the court ruled. 

The Crown conceded with the submissions made by Lawrence in relation to sentence.

Natalie Malcolm, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and Monique Scott, Crown Counsel, submitted that the judge did not take a proper approach in determining the sentence she imposed for illegal possession of firearm.  

They pointed out that the judge did not acknowledge any mitigating factors such as the appellant's previous good character, that he had no previous conviction, and did voluntary work.

They suggested that if the court sees fit to give a reduction for the delay of the transcript, seven years' imprisonment would be an appropriate sentence. 

The court said bearing in mind the mitigating factors, the sentence of 10 years was reduced to eight years but with the reduction for the delay of the hearing of his appeal, he is to serve seven years' imprisonment.

The court pointed out that Grant was on bail up to the time of his trial.

Grant's sentence is to commence on April 5, 2017, the court ruled.

- Barbara Gayle

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