Posted: Saturday, December 23, 2023. 10:15 am CST.
By Aaron Humes: A bailiff for the Municipal Court, 38-year-old Brandon Gillett, will spend Christmas behind bars after appearing in court on the last working day before the holiday on five counts of illegally altering a firearm.
Gillett is accused of altering by adding to his licensed Springfield Armory .223 rifle an OLIGHT flashlight, Pistol Grip, Fore Grip, Front Sight, and a Rear Sight, allegedly without the permission in writing of the still-to-be-named Firearms and Ammunition Control Board as amended by Act No 43 of 2023 to sections 32 and 36 of the original Firearms Act. Before the amendments licenses were granted solely by the Commissioner of Police.
Gillett initially agreed to plead guilty to all five counts but after the facts of the case were read out in court, he disagreed with them. An equivocal plea was not entered and bail was denied under the terms of the Firearms Act, hence remand until February 21, 2024.
Gillett has a special provision license for the rifle granted in 2023 as well as a separate license for a nine-millimeter pistol.
The presiding Magistrate indicated that jail time of no less than five and a maximum of 10 years imprisonment is prescribed for this violation to a first-time offender, and 10 to 25 years for a second offense, but the Magistrate also cited the Gino Peck case of 2013 in noting that he can use his discretion to allow a non-custodial sentence.
Police conducted a search of Gillett’s Los Lagos residence in his presence on Thursday afternoon, December 21, where they were presented with the licensed weaponry. They then checked the Crime Information Management System records at the Queen Street Police Station in Belize City and found that the picture of the rifle and its particulars in the system did not match what they had retrieved from Gillett’s residence.
Gillett allegedly admitted he had no written authorization from the Commissioner to alter or add attachments to the rifle.
Meanwhile, Gillett faces revocation of the license issued to him by the Commissioner after being seen in public brandishing the .223 rifle while at his grandmother’s funeral. Gillett claimed he was defending his mother, who he alleged was being bullied by her siblings.
Chester Williams told reporters earlier this week, “It is not proper for a licensed gun holder to be brandishing a firearm especially one of that caliber in public and more so in front of a church so I have given instructions to GI3 (the Gang Intelligence, Investigation and Interdiction Unit) to go and search his home and retrieve those weapons from there and then we will make whatever effort needs to be done to have those weapons confiscated from him.” He added that while Gillett was to that point a man of good character and not facing any criminal charges, he appeared to show bad judgment and he would suffer the consequences following due process.
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The post Court bailiff Brandon Gillett spending Christmas behind bars for illegally altering a firearm appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Saturday, December 23, 2023. 10:15 am CST. By Aaron Humes: A bailiff for the Municipal Court, 38-year-old Brandon Gillett, will spend Christmas behind bars after
The post Court bailiff Brandon Gillett spending Christmas behind bars for illegally altering a firearm appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
