In a landmark moment for Jamaica’s efforts to crack down on illegal gun violence, a Black Rock resident has made legal history as the first person to secure a conviction before the country’s newly launched specialized gun court.
Jerimiah Selassie Bartlett, a resident of Fernihurst in Black Rock, entered a guilty plea before Justice Douglas Frederick at the No. 2 Supreme Court on charges of unlawful possession of a .40-calibre S&W SIG pistol and seven rounds of ammunition. The charges stem from an incident that took place on January 3, 2026, when authorities seized the unregistered firearm and ammunition from Bartlett.
Bartlett was represented in court by Attorney Kyle Walkes, who stood in for lead defense counsel Safiya Moore. In a procedural move that accelerated the case timeline, Walkes formally waived the requirement for a pre-sentencing report, a document typically prepared by court services to outline the defendant’s background and circumstances for the judge prior to sentencing.
Principal State Counsel Rudolph Burnett, who is leading the prosecution for the state, is scheduled to present the full factual details of the case to the court during a hearing set for October 23.
The newly established gun court was created to address the persistent backlog of firearms-related cases across Jamaica’s judicial system, a backlog that has long frustrated law enforcement and public safety advocates pushing for swifter justice to curb rising gun crime. By streamlining procedures and dedicating judicial resources exclusively to firearms offenses, policymakers hope the specialized court will reduce case processing times and send a clear deterrent message to individuals involved in the illegal gun trade. Bartlett’s conviction marks the first major milestone in the implementation of this new judicial framework, testing the court’s ability to deliver efficient outcomes in line with its founding mandate.