A 32-year-old man from Bendals has entered a guilty plea to charges of unlawfully holding a firearm and ammunition, following a routine police traffic stop that uncovered the hidden weapon earlier this month.
Wakeme Rodney faced charges after law enforcement officers stopped his pickup truck during a checkpoint operation conducted along Bendals Main Road on May 14. Officers first pulled Rodney over when they observed he was failing to comply with basic road safety rules by not wearing his required seatbelt. What began as a minor traffic infraction quickly escalated into a weapons case when officers searched the vehicle and found the hidden cache.
Tucked inside a black Adidas side bag resting on the front passenger seat, police discovered a fully loaded Beretta APX 9mm pistol, alongside seven rounds of live ammunition. Following the seizure, Rodney told investigators that he had no intention of keeping the weapon illegally, claiming he had stumbled upon the gun near the Masonry Product facility along Big Creek Main Road, and was en route to hand it over to authorities when he was stopped.
Rodney formally entered his guilty plea before Chief Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel during a court hearing held this week. Following the plea, the Bendals resident was remanded into custody to await his formal sentencing, which has been scheduled for May 27.