Auto-mechanic found guilty over unlawful gun
Michael Jefferson
(CNS): A jury has found local auto-mechanic, Michael Fernandez Jefferson (24), guilty of possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, in connection with a gun found at his house under a bed. Jefferson has no criminal record, no known gang associations and the gun had not been used in a crime, nor was it in full working order when it was seized by police. Nevertheless, he now faces a ten year mandatory minimum jail term.
The jury arrived at the verdict just before noon on Wednesday after beginning their deliberations the previous day at around 11am. During the trial the court heard that police, acting on information, had secured a search warrant for Jefferson’s home, where he lived with his mother and girlfriend. When police began their search they found a .38 automatic pistol under a bed wrapped in tissue in a ziplock bag, along with two live cartridges.
After police seized the weapon it was tested by experts, who found that it would not work because the firing pin had been sawn off. But they concluded that the gun would work if the pin was replaced. The crown had presented the jury with the alternative of finding Jefferson guilty of possessing the component parts of a gun, but prosecuting attorney Nicole Petite had argued during the case that it was a lethal weapon capable of being fired if the pin was replaced and consequently it fitted the legal definition of a firearm.
Jefferson denied any knowledge of the gun, saying the room where it was found was not where he and his girlfriend stayed. There were no prints or DNA found on the gun linking it to Jefferson.
The police witnesses claimed that Jefferson had indicated the room where the gun was found was his. An officer also testified that while he was holding Jefferson outside the house, following his arrest, the young man had confessed to owning the gun because “his past was catching up with him”, a comment Jefferson denied.
During cross-examination the officer admitted that he had not made a note of the alleged confession. When Jefferson gave evidence he insisted he knew nothing about the weapon and that the house was an open place with various people, including family members, coming and going.
Following his conviction, Jefferson, who was working as a supervisor at an auto shop and who has no criminal record, was remanded in custody. The judge ordered a social inquiry report and set the sentencing hearing for 31 August. Jefferson is now facing the mandatory minimum sentence of ten years unless his defence attorney, Laurence Aiolfi, can successfully argue exceptional circumstances.
Antonio Kelly faces two separate charges. Check it out.
Repost:
I am sure the defense attorney is rubbing his hands at the obvious grounds for appeal: this was not a ‘lethal barrelled weapon’ as defined in the Law thus he should have been found not guilty.
54 10
Yep, that’s strong grounds for appeal, especially since nobody mentioned that at the trial.
???
?!
From the number of posters supporting Jefferson here, he must have somebody praying for him. lol. And of course, once you take down all of the pictures that showed him actually holding guns, it is unreasonable for anyone to believe that he is the type of person that would hide a gun under his bed.
Do they really believe that police wouldn’t have copies of those pictures that have since been taken down?
Ummm, have you heard about our police force?
You believe everything you read in the media na true? What does him posting pics of a gun on social media have to do with the case in question? And yes plenty people are praying for him you need ask somebody to pray for you and your children so that you never make a mistake in your life and be judged by that mistake for the rest of your life. Instead of watching people facebook page to know whether a picture was posted or taken down you should find something more constructive to do in your spare time #howboutthat
@ 1:42am.
Your ignorance is amusing….
If anyone posts pics up on social media holding any type of unlicensed fire-arm, at anytime…..with or without intent to use the said weapon; it still DOES NOT change the fact that you were at that time IN POSSESSION of an unlicensed fire-arm.
Do you understand this? Do you comprehend the words typed above? So even if the gun is not his, he is holding it; laying his claim.
You just can’t make this stuff up man. Instead of praying for your kids, try teaching them some responsibility, try teaching them that there are consequences for their actions….
These criminals trying to play innocent and forget they post gun pictures on social media. smh fools
So many complaints on here but the guys has a public photo on facebook of a hand holding a gun…..
And your point?
Point is the guy likes guns. That is all.
If the pictures show him holding guns when he doesn’t have a firearms licence the point is a little more obvious. If the pictures are just of guns without him in the picture then fair enough.
Point? Lol. Picture on Facebook holding a gun demonstrates an uncultured, low-life, degraded character. Any more questions?
Take note kids! Real gangster don’t post gun pictures on social media, it just gives them an excuse to profile you. So if you want to be a gangster you can’t have a 9 to 5. You either street or you about your business you can’t do both…….. Cayman to small everybody knows everybody
The case has big HOLES in it. If this young man is going to be charged, then everybody that lives in that house should have been found guilty. No DNA, NO PRINTS nothing that links this young man to the gun. Police man confused with his report. Very cruel.
Apart from the fact that it was under his bed (according to what the police say he told them) and he told the officer holding him that it was his. The fact that the policeman didn’t write it down at the time doesn’t make it inadmissible as evidence. It comes down to whether the jury believed him or the police, and they obviously went with the police.
It’s about time. Jail is exactly where he belongs. This guy has broken into half of the homes in Prospect and Savannah and stolen from everyone. The amount of grief you have caused so many people will finally come back to you. You deserve nothing less than 10 year. Every police officer knows exactly who this loser is. They laugh and say oh yeah, him….he’s the one who will steal everything but your kitchen sink. Karma is a bitch Jefferson – you will finally be paying your dues. What comes around goes around…
Good to know!…. that’s what he get then!
You HAVE to be talking about some other Jefferson, definitely NOT Michael Jefferson for sure!! Bless your poor delusional soul!!!
Has he stolen from you before?
they want to be bad man in the streets and keeping the kind of company that wants to be known as bad people then when caught up there ready to knock off the church’s door because of the jail sentence there facing. nobody put a gun and bullets down in the same place to come back for nor need them both together to sink him and only a fool would have a illegal gun and leave marks on it at anytime there has always been cleaning solutions and #somethingcalledgloves want to live that American dream go ahead live it up now
What are you even rambling on about?
WTF did I just read?
You need to go back to school.
And you need to stop believing in Santa Claus
Now let’s hope the authorities are as firm with the Yanks that keep being caught with guns.
One gun and many bullets accidentally forgotten in bags….not quite the same.
Not in my eyes. Possession of a gun if posession of a gun. Indeed importation makes it worse. No-one accidentally leaves a gun in a bag.
Hold on…
Antonio Kelly gets 12 years for committing 2 different crimes, years apart (1 involved murdering someone while carelessly trying to roll a spliff at 85mph and the other for a robbery), but Michael may get 10 years for this?
What the hell…
So it goes bro! The law and sentencing here are all over the place, is more like a spin the wheel game, which ever number it falls is what u get.
Kelley actually got 12 years for carrying a firearm in a robbery, reduced to 8 for pleading guilty. This chaps gets 10 for possession, but with no reduction for pleading guilty – cause he didn’t. The death by dangerous driving case was tried separately, sentenced separately and has no relevance in comparing the two cases.
The sentencing is off for Mr. Kelly, not for your friend Michael. Kelly should have been given a lot longer. 10 year minimum for possession of a lethal weapon and ammo is reasonable.
There is s minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for being caught with an unlicensed fire-arm.
You didn’t know?
Well, now you do.
I do not know this young man. But it is clear that the police was eager to bring a gun-related case forward with weak evidence. This Officer should have been put on the Stand and cross-examined. Furthermore, this young man has none of the following.
Nothing linking him to this gun…
– No criminal record…
– No gang affiliation
– A non-existent (technically) confession…
– No reason to think he may need to use this gun…
– The gun doesn’t even work
– No DNA
Based on the above how can you find him guilty? From reading the posts, this young man is turning around his life and you people with poor evidence has send him to jail for 10 years? So many of us, have allowed Cain and Able family members and friends into our homes thinking that they are with us. Only to find out later that they either rape our kids, rob us or plant drugs and guns to set us up. This case only tells me that I cannot drive my convertible car anymore as the Top does not work. My neighbour who smiles with me can place drugs or a gun in there and then call the police. The police finds nothing that links me to the items found in my car that I cannot lock up and I am innocently sent away for 10 years. This case has a lot of HOLES in it. Please free the young man.
He was found guilty by a jury. To be on the jury you must be a registered voter. To be a voter you must be caymanian.
There’s seems to have been enough evidence to convince them. Perhaps you should have sat in court to hear all the evidence instead of second guessing the verdict.
I was there and I’m still second guessing it
Lol having no criminal record doesnt mean anything, he just didnt get caught. Police say they recieved information that he had a firearm, which means an officer didnt have a dream and say michael jefferson has a gun.. someone who knows him knows he has one. They executed a search warrant and one was retrieved. Simple… You would be suprised how many “Persons of good character” have illegal weapons.
No the person who called in with the information put it there
To “weak case”:
You contradict yourself. First you start out my telling us that there is no evidence to suggest he would have an unlicensed gun, i.e. no gang affiliation, no DNA etc….
Then you go on to say “this young man is turning around his life”…
So if one is turning their life around, that would mean you were once in a bad place. No?
Those eyebrows and that goatee are a crime in and of themselves.
what do you even mean?
How can you judge someone by how they look!!!!!
Quite easily when it comes to hiring PAs and nannies.
Profiling works.
Ummh, cause if a guy looks like a criminal you probably would not hire him to babysit your kids. Stop pretending to be such an angel.
I really want to see how this is gonna play out, especially in comparison to the recent sentencings and I REALLY want to see how things play out with the foreigner with the guns and over 200 rounds of ammo!!
he caymamian…he ga go jail …so govt can make more revenue off the work permit that will be paid once he is replaced? ?? ok understood
Muppet-he goes to jail because he committed a criminal offense, or is that expats fault now too?
I hope the social inquiry report that the judge has ordered will reveal how he is listed as having “no criminal record”.
That just means someone has never been caught.
I personally has known him over 20 years, childhood friends.
Yes, he might have had his past of getting into trouble at his early teen age, but I personally can say he is a changed person.
He has done a U-turn, got a job, a wife,kids and has settle himself.
For the police/court now to judge a man that has never been convicted in his life is a major issue.
He has been set up by a friend/family member.
Once someone see you doing good progressing, living life the right away there is always that peek that someone dosen’t like the way life is being lived.
I hope Jefferson the best in this trial and hope he is a free man & the person that have done this their mind eats them when they go to sleep.
#FreeJefferson
“I hope Jefferson the best in this trial” – It was pretty much the worst outcome for Jefferson… not sure if you read the article or even the title.
Yes I did
If that is the truth unfortunately he still let those friends and family members into the house so he is still responsible for keeping those people as friends and letting this happen. He seems he has not tried to identify someone else as the gun owner. Also, the police went there based on a tip which makes me think he showed the gun to someone and that is how they knew it was there.
For someone that has NO FACTS about the case you seem to know a lot! First of all it was not his house so he had NO control over who came and left the house. He was escorted from his job by the police to the house in which a young man was seen running out the front door, jumped on a bicycle and rode down the road. ANYBODY COULD HAVE PUT THE GUN THERE!! He had no control over who entered and left the house and obvioulsy the police either if they could not or should I say chose not to apprehend the young man seen leaving the premises! PLEASE DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY YOU READ IN THESE NEWS REPORTS!! The media’s objective is to make him seem like some monster.
or the person who put it there made the tip? its all suspicious but its always the ones close to you who try to screw you over i doubts its a stranger who made the tip
It’s amazing how many people take a U-turn after getting caught.
Hater – he made a u turn BEFORE he was set up ?
Nothing innocent about him…”all the behind closed doors think nobody ain’t watching wanna be gangstas going down slowly but surely”…..Those that know him knows what he’s about
Shut up plz
Touched a nerve I see, better had told Jefferson to shut up before he admitted to the law that the gun was his, Tell him put you on his visit list so you can go pamper him…He will need it!!!!!
When did he admit to the gun being his??
Obviously you can’t read or just too blind with ignorance to understand what you read, He admitted to the police an the jury believed it…Simple!!
Long story short, it shouldn’t be in his house. If it’s not his, he should of been aware of what’s going on in his house. If he’s not gonna take responsibility, someone who also lives in the house will have to.
First of all it was not his house….now continue…
How to smell a set up 101:
– Nothing linking him to this gun…
– No criminal record…
– No gang affiliation
– A non-existent (technically) confession…
– No reason to think he may need to use this gun…
– The gun doesn’t even work…
But then again maybe he did actually purchase the gun off someone (as a safety precaution or whatever), not knowing that it wouldn’t fire.
Maybe he knew about the firing pin but hadn’t gotten around to fixing it.
I obviously don’t know the actual truth – but something about this just doesn’t seem right.
Sounds like a classic case of holding a weapon for criminals.
Sounds like bullshit to me
Hold your head up bro the police can find a gun that ain’t working but still cant find out which officers stole all of the drugs from the police station!!!!
So true’
The most likely scenario is that he was hiding it for someone else. Now if he’ll come clean and tell us who that is, perhaps then a lighter sentence might be considered. Until then, suck it up buttercup.
If he was set up then he would have an idea of who that might be. Was he hanging around gangs or troubled people? He deserves what he gets……………..its GUN he had under HIS bed! how stupid can these posters be????/ he had a gun under his bed Caymanian sympathizers!!!!
He clearly stated people come in and out of his house so how could he know exactly who it could be. Maybe it was indeed a family member who decided to hide it there with intentions of coming back for it or maybe it was that same family member who tried to set him up. And you must not be caymanian be despite what someone does we do sympathize because it is always sad to see someone with potential end up jailed or dead!
If it is your house, it is your responsibility to make sure nobody brings a gun into it.
It wasn’t his house despite what the media would like you to think
OK, it wasn’t his house. Who is responsible for putting pictures of him with a gun in his hand on his Facebook page over the last 5 years?
Does it matter? Whatever guns he has posted on social media is it the same one he is being charged with? You guys obviously will judge anyone who has a messed up past because that is all you know
LaLa….
You are definitely in LaLa land….say hi to Santa Claus and the Easter bunny for me…
He without sin cast the first stone
Your stupid cause your clearly not reading!
You’re…
You may want to start by spelling “you’re” correctly when calling someone “stupid”… js
Caymanian sympathisers? What are you? Sounds like a Caymanian hater.
I can think of several scenarios where he may have a gun in his house and not know about it! If he wasn’t the only person living there, it is conceivable that it is not his gun. I can’t say for sure in this case…but reasonable doubt is there.
I personally know of a case where someone had NO IDEA that a gun was in their house. The person who owned it, who also lived in the house, hid the gun without the leaseholder’s knowledge. It was only when the gun was used in a crime and the person arrested, that the leaseholder found out about the gun and where it had been hidden. It happens. And it doesn’t mean that you condone or sympathise – merely that you’ve been duped!
I would not be living in a house or apartment or even a tent with people I can’t trust! You think this youth is any different!?!
So, if this young man was working all day turning a blind eye to the traffic in and out of his residence; that’s a type of guilt too folks. C’mon.
He know what time it is. He just thought he was being smart.
Well, you got at least 10 good years to think about the choices that led to this moment in your life son. You also have a child to consider in it all. Sad really. The cycle continues yet again.
He seemed to be holding a gun for criminals. A criminal can turn that into a lethal weapon in 2 minutes. Good to see the jury not buy into his excuses. Everyone hiding weapons take not, you are going down, scumbags.
Congratulations to RCIPS. Well done boys! It’s no good some people moaning about gun crime and unlicensed guns, and when these criminals are caught with such items in their possession making excuses for them. As an ex Police Officer, the excuses I have heard is unbelievable!
The perpetrator had ammunition and a firearm in his possession, both unlicensed. It’s immaterial whether it worked or not. Maybe he wasn’t a gang member or had no previous convictions, the potential was there. Probably because he was never caught. You get the same sentence if the firearm was made of wood or if adapted to look like a firearm. If he was so innocent what was he doing with this gun and ammunition in his possession? Why didn’t he hand it in to RCIPS? If he was a law abiding citizen he wouldn’t want it to get into the wrong hands would he. No people, some of you have a lot to learn about these criminals. Let’s get them off the streets! We want a safe environment to live and bring up our children. We all need to stand up to these scumbags!
If he did not know about it how was he gonna turn it in May I ask?
He knew full well 7.46am that firearm was in his possession I can assure you about that! They all say that. If you listen to these criminals Northward us full of “innocent” people.
You can assure me huh??? Sounds like you know more about it being there than anyone else does?
Sounds like you the one that set him up
Its good to see the RCIPS stepping into action on guns and violence instead of chasing people on dirt bikes like idiots.
#BikesBringBonds
#StopHatingTheBikelife
I will respect the “bikelife” when you all respect other road users and pedestrians and when you all stop acting like 5 year old thugs just let out of a concentration camp!
When I see you coming toward me in my lane on the road and I’m in my car, you on your bike; I don’t move. Take these four wheels on all you want. Good-luck.
Nah, not at all. Just waiting for one of you idiots wheelying in traffic and then eat asphalt in front an oncoming car. I seen some very close calls, one day you wont be so lucky. another note, word on the street jefferson was setup by someone just committed crimes with the mentioned weapon. sad to see this from someone that had made a complete turnaround for years. #dontjudge
Jefferson has turned his life around. He was accomplishing his goals. Maybe he just got caught in an unfortunate situation.
The laws in Cayman are so ass backwards as well. How is he looking to serve the mandatory minimum of 10 years when Antonio Kelly was found guilty of manslaughter by careless driving and is only given 4 years sentencing.
Please tell me this is a joke
There are so many problems with this.. no prints.. no record.. no gang affiliations.. gun don’t work.. officer forgot to write down comments especially a confession.. haha get out of here with this mess
Apparently the jury didn’t find it a joke, which is why they found him guilty. Look, can we stop this “La La Land” infantile foolishness and all conclude what so many seem to be in denial about : if you have an unlicensed firearm and/or ammo inside of your property or on your person, you will be arrested, you are going to go to court, and unless you can convince a jury otherwise found guilty and sentenced by a judge to a minimum of ten years in the slammer. Now, let’s get real and quit being idiotic (but top marks for parallel-universe thinking – very imaginative!).
Easy appeal here. I’m actually very surprised this went to court in the first place. In the UK the CPS would simply have dumped the charges for lack of admissable evidence.
9:44 But it’s third-world justice here. With the right connections your trial gets delayed indefinitely, evidence gets lost and eventually you walk. Without those connections you end up in jail. We obviously don’t know the fuill picture here but if it was an RCIPS fit up it certainly wasn’t the first time that’s happened.
Especially wth our police force being made up of mostly third world cops!
I am sure the defense attorney is rubbing his hands at the obvious grounds for appeal: this was not a ‘lethal barrelled weapon’ as defined in the Law thus he should have been found not guilty.
The Firearms Law is a public document. Go read it and stop speaking to what you do not know.
Nunsense.
So, you’re a lawyer, are you? And one with more firearms expert knowledge than the police and the prosecutor? My goodness, maybe they should have consulted you before beginning the case. Get real, pal.
The sentence should be a deterrent so others will get the message that it is not okay to have unlicensed firearms in your possession. We will never get the illegal gun problem under control until the courts get serious on the issue.
So sending an innocent man to jail for 10 years is gonna stop it then right??
No, he is a guilty man being sent to jail. And, yes, it might deter other foolish people from doing what he did. You can believe he is innocent, that’s your right and it’s a free country, but the jury is not in agreement with you, and that’s what counts. Please grow up.
Yes in my book. He had a gun. He goes to jail.
Oh ok I get it so sending an innocent man to jail is going to stop that? I understand now! ?
Plenty more baby daddy’s out there.
@ 9:02am.
My sentiments exactly!
Possessing components of a gun. That’s every house hold in Cayman if you take into account house hold combustable chemicals and steel piping. It’s not difficult to make a projectile firearm at all.
What a fool going to prison for a couple shots and a broken gun what use was it to him anyway obviously none if it was broken. If I went to prison for a gun you better believe i would have several and them bitches would be loaded and automatic.
Because it wasn’t his!! He was set up. No DNA and no fingerprints!
He was set up? By who? The police? They say that he admitted his past was catching up to him as he was held back and the room was being searched. Sounds like he wasn’t man enough to handle something he got himself involved in. Another punk off the streets if you ask me.
Set up by SOMEONE or maybe a family member came in left it there (without anyone knowing) not intending for it to be found or maybe a family member did set him up! And yea coming from an officer who FORGOT to take the confession down GTFOH
Did that same family member also post pictures of him with guns on his Facebook page over the years?
Nope just him
You must have been top of your class I bet…
You sound dumb
Grow-up, because grown people take responsibility for their actions.
Little boys and girls will always find excuses for their behaviour!