Fear drove bar owner to keep illegal gun

(CNS): Kirk Munroe, the manager of the George Town bar, Ultra Lounge, appeared in court Friday charged with the possession of a loaded illegal handgun and has been remanded in custody. Munroe has claimed that he found the gun outside his bar just a few days before his arrest and was worried the real owner had hidden the weapon with the intention of robbing him or his bar.

The gun was recovered by police on 3 August after a raid at his home, where he said he had taken the gun after he discovered it wrapped in cloth as he was closing up the bar.

Munroe’s lawyer told the court his client had recently assisted a man who was robbed close to the bar and believed he might have been a target, which led him to pick up the weapon and take it home. Munroe did not deny having the gun and when police came to his house, he had not concealed it and had told the officers where the weapon was.

However, given the current atmosphere surrounding illegal firearms and gun violence, as well as Munroe’s means and the possibility that he could leave the jurisdiction, he was remanded to HMP Northward and he is expected to return to court later this week.