Ex-firefighter jailed for over 5 years in gun case
(CNS): A local firefighter from Bodden Town was given a five and a half year prison term this week following his conviction for the possession of an imitation firearm with intent. Fabian Thompson (34) was shot by a police Taser as he fled with a gun in his hand during a search at his home in January 2016. Police never recovered what they believed to be a 9mm handgun because although the stun-gun probes hit Thompson as he ran and jumped over a fence, he was able to free himself from the wires and get away.
But damning CCTV from the Taser-cam and evidence from police officer culminated in a charge of possession of an imitation weapon with intent to resist arrest and his ultimate conviction by a jury last month.
During the sentencing hearing the presiding judge in the case, Justice Malcolm Swift, pointed out that just because the weapon many not have been real or in working order, it did not mean that people would not be frightened or intimidated, as he echoed the increasingly frequent comments from the courts that guns have become the scourge of the region, including Cayman.
There is a statutory mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a real unlicensed gun, but jail time for possessing imitation weapons or guns that cannot be proved to be real is at the discretion of the judge. In this case, although Thompson did not point the weapon directly at the unarmed officers, he did remove the gun from his pockets as he fled.
Pointing out that even people in possession of guns that may not be real can expect to go to jail for a long time, Justice Swift handed down the 5½ years, with the time that Thompson has served in jail since his arrest in this case taken into consideration.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!!
only time civil servant get any raise is election time…he wa trying pay mortgage to avoid foreclosure?
Predictible morons chiming in to say crime is/was justified because of yet another over-extended lifestyle. Wouldn’t it be something if more respect was given to law-abiding people living within their means? Blame applied to duped banks and employers rather than the bonehead pouring his capital into bling. Enjoy Northward.
He hid it under that big rock that is 500 yards to the south east of the house. Why would he run and hide a imitation or toy gun?
How whatless, 5 years 6months prison and a bad criminal record, he is an idiot. You have to be dumb to bring anything other than household goods to cayman cause every thing is illegal here. Can’t even own a wrist rocket style slingshot.
Throw away your life, for what?
Deport him! Drain the swamp
Deport him to were, he is a caymanian
We Caymanians spell the word thus: “where”
Trying to set the wrong example for all the other gun crazy kids in the area. Gun crime is obvious but here they sleep.
Good.
It’s a shame that the gun could not be found. That’s how you know it was a real gun, not imitation.
Exactly! If it wasn’t real, he wouldn’t have put himself in a position to be tasered.
It’s a pity his sentence isn’t 55 years instead of 5.5 years.