Loaded guns land men 12 and 15 years in jail
(CNS): Two men convicted of possessing firearms have been given long jail terms by a judge following a retrial last week. Keith Rohan Montaque was handed a 15-year term and Walter Jordan McLaughlin got twelve years in jail Friday for two loaded guns found under a bed in a North Side house, where the two men were staying, during a police raid just over two years ago. Neither of the men have previous convictions for illegal guns and the weapons were not fired or used in a crime, but as he delivered his sentencing ruling, the judge said that “guns cause terror”.
Both men, who are in their late 20’s, were tried for possessing an unlicensed .38 revolver and a 9mm pistol as well as a cache of ammunition. Largely based on DNA evidence, the jury found that Montague had been in possession of both guns and McLaughlin only the loaded revolver. Neither man was convicted in relation to the bullets.
It was the second time the men faced a jury. At the first trial the judge threw out the case at the halfway point after defence attorneys had argued that there was not enough evidence to convict them. But the crown successfully appealed and a retrial was ordered. This time the full case went to the jury, who came back with guilty verdicts Friday morning.
McLaughlin is already serving a more than two-year term for robbing a woman in a sexual encounter. This 12-year term will run consecutively to that sentence. Montaque has no serious convictions but has long been suspected by police of being involved in gang-related activity.
In September 2011 Montaque was the victim of a gang-related shooting just off Crewe Road, when 18-year-old Jason Christian was murdered while they were sitting in a parked van. Despite being shot four times, Montague survived after he flagged down a passing police car and was airlifted to the US for treatment. Although he was arrested and questioned regarding the murder of Robert Mackford Bush (28) and Preston Ezekiel Rivers (19) in West Bay, which happened just days before he was shot, Montaque was not charged in those cases.
As the judge handed down the lengthy terms, he said the guns were not being carried on the street nor had they been used in a crime but they were loaded and ready to use, hidden under a mattress. He said gun crime had become a curse in the Cayman Islands in recent years and the courts needed to protect people from firearms.
One guys receives only two years for robbing and sexually assaulting a woman but gets 12 years for possessing a gun hidden under a bed? These seem like messed up priorities! I would have expected the opposite!
This is what you get when you get a jury here in the cayman islands, guilty once your in court.
Because the fact that their DNA was on the weapons means they were clearly innocent and the jury are idiots, right? Mr Montaque and Mr McLaughlin friends of yours, perchance?
DNA does not prove posession
Registering to vote makes you a juror, now all of a sudden you can judge people with no knowledge of the law. DNA can come from anywhere. This is why magistrates should be the only judges, not random citizens.
Another criminal apologist.
Correction the court needs to protect us from criminals and the law abiding citizens need firearms
I can understand your feelings and the need to protect you and your family. Allowing citizens the right to be armed is not the way to go. The U.S is a fine example!! Thousands murdered every day. There’s enough shootings by illegal firearms in Cayman as it is lately. The only people that should be armed and trained in the use of these weapons is RCIPS……….and they are trained correctly! I know, they trained me.
Oh….. just you and the cops…
That what you get. Loosers!
Foot loosers!
DNA does not prove posession.
I agree 3:43pm, unfortunately so many have few knowledge and understanding about DNA evidence; just look to the great U.S.A. Many have been wrongfully convicted of crimes they had nothing to do with solely on DNA evidence.
So, it’s not impossible for DNA evidence to be misguiding.
where are these guns coming from? and howare they getting into the islands? sad!?
Seriously!?? LOL
Goodbye / Good luck / Good Riddance , c ya when you mature …….. !
About time somebody got what they deserved in terms of prison time.
Way to go!r
I went to school with McLaughlin. He’s also guilty of being an idiot.
Disagree, not stupid, naïve.
He is a nice guy, comes from a good family….just started hanging with the wrong folk.
Sorry for his mom, she raised him well, she must be so upset.
“Nice guy” – did you read the trial accounts of that robbery trial? Didn’t sound so nice then.
Some people are easily influenced more than others. Not everyone is a leader, some just follow and end up like this.
That being said, there are some serious hardened criminals in Cayman that have been causing havoc for years; the police know who they are yet they are still wheeling and dealing daily.
Parents, teach your children morals, ethics and standards; keep behind your children.