DPP to appeal 4-year prison sentence for man convicted of illegal gun possession

Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn says her office will be appealing a four-year sentence given to a man who pleaded guilty to illegal possession of firearm.

Twenty-eight-year-old Dennis Mundell was indicted under the wrong section of the new gun law that carries harsh penalties for convicts.

In a media release today, the DPP said that her office is of the view that an appeal is in the best interest of justice.

“This view is held having regard to varying legal practitioner interpretations of  sections 3, 4, 45(2) (including the penalty provision outlined in the Sixth Schedule of the FPRRA [Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, 2022] at page 115), 101(6) and 101(8) of the FPRRA and the consequential amendments to the Criminal Justice Administration Act (referred to in the Seventh schedule of the FPRRA).”

Llewellyn said the appropriate administrative steps will be taken within the course of this week to file the relevant appeal so that the Court of Appeal can pronounce upon the appropriateness of the sentence.

In a Gleaner interview at the weekend, Llewellyn disclosed that Mundell, who was the first person to be sentenced under the new law, should have been indicted under Section 5 of the act instead of Section 45.

Section 5 outlines that no one should be in possession of a prohibited weapon and that anyone who contravenes that order commits a felony and will be sentenced to life imprisonment of not less than 15 years.

Prohibited weapon is defined as any prohibited firearm, any grenade, bomb or other like missile or any missile or missile launcher.

Meanwhile, prohibited firearm, among other things, is defined as any firearm in respect of which no firearm authorisation is granted under Part V or under the laws of another jurisdiction. Part V of the act speaks to firearm authorisation from the Firearm Licensing Authority.

Section 45 of the act, on the other hand, outlines that no one should be in possession of any firearm or ammunition without the appropriate firearm authorisation granted under Part V; or a firearm that is not marked in accordance with Section 29(1) (a) to (f) or 29(2).

The latter section speaks to the specific forms of identification a firearm, imported into or exported from Jamaica, should have.

This means that Mundell was charged and sentenced for having a legal gun belonging to someone else instead of being in possession of an illegal gun.

He pleaded guilty on December 16 after he was nabbed during an operation at premises in St Catherine 14 days earlier.

At the time of his arrest, he was being sought by the police for two years for an alleged murder that occurred in 2020.

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