Couple in dock at odds over illegal gun

Cayman Islands courts, George Town

(CNS): A local woman who was charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm after being arrested outside Calico Jack’s beach bar on the West Bay Road in April has admitted the allegation but the man she was arrested with has denied the same charge. Kylan Hunter has pleaded not guilty to having a loaded semi-automatic 9mm Smith and Weston pistol, while Juliette Lathan has pleaded guilty to having the same gun and ammunition, which was seized by police when the couple were stopped around midnight on Saturday, 23 April.

They were arrested by an armed police unit on patrol on the West Bay Road, when the gun and eleven round of ammunition were recovered.

During their appearance in court Friday the couple were arraigned separately and gave their conflicting pleas. The court heard that Lathan will be giving evidence for the crown when the case goes to trial next January. She is looking at a minimum seven-year sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances in the case. Hunter, however, could be jailed for ten years or more if he is found guilty after trial as a result of the mandatory sentences for gun possession.

This is one of a number of cases recently where police have seized weapons. Speaking at a press briefing earlier this month, Acting Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis said officers had taken a number of weapons off the streets during the first six months of this year. Possession of unlicensed firearms arrests grew by 166% but it was the one crime hike that was welcome because it meant the police were actually recovering illegal guns.

“My officers have been working hard and put themselves at great danger to remove firearms from the street,” Ennis said, adding that officers were exercising extraordinary restraint when it came to dealing with armed suspects.