A resident of Haynesville, St James, has avoided a custodial sentence after completing full payment of more than $26,000 in combined fines for illegal firearm and ammunition possession, but has received a clear final warning from a senior High Court justice about the consequences of any future weapons-related conviction.
Ramon Michael Thomas, a first-time offender, was originally handed the financial penalties last year for a 2022 weapons violation. According to court documents, on August 13, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Thomas’s home. During a sweep of the property’s kitchen, investigators uncovered a .22-calibre revolver hidden inside an empty protein powder can placed on top of the refrigerator. The weapon was already loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, and an additional five unused bullets were discovered wrapped in paper a short distance from the can.
As a first-time offender, Thomas was not immediately sentenced to prison. The court ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine for unlicensed possession of the revolver, with a default sentence of 527 days behind bars if the fine went unpaid. For the separate charge of illegal ammunition possession, he received an additional $6,000 fine, with a six-month prison term as the alternative for non-payment, bringing the total of his court-imposed financial penalties to $26,000.
When the No. 5 Supreme Court recently confirmed that Thomas had paid the full amount of his fines, High Court Justice Pamela Beckles issued a stark public warning to the offender ahead of his release. “Don’t come back. I am letting you know that if you do on a firearm charge and are convicted, it is mandatory you are going to prison,” Beckles stated directly to Thomas.
Acting Senior State Counsel Maya Kellman represented the prosecution in the case, which was first reported by local Caribbean court correspondent Jovan Beaubrun.