The North Ruimveldt woman who admitted having guns, ammunition, explosives and cocaine under a bed in her home will spend four years, nine months in prison.
Magistrate Oneidge Walrond-Allicock presiding at court six yesterday sentenced 24-year-old Rhonda Gomes of 3009 North Ruimveldt to two years, nine months on the three gun-related charges together with a fine of $5,000. The sentences are to run concurrently. She was also fined $1,500 or an alternative of six months in prison for having explosives (four grenades) and was jailed for four years, nine months for having cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The latter sentence will also run concurrently with the sentences on the firearms charges meaning that she will spend four years and nine months in jail.
Magistrate Walrond-Allicock before handing down the sentence told Gomes that she had given much consideration to the matter. "Gun crimes and narcotics-related offences have quickly become a pandemic and scourge in our country", she said. She continued that she found Gomes' account that she had no knowledge of the items as being manufactured and unreliable. She stated that she however agrees that the defendant was not likely to be a drug kingpin and in like fashion was not likely to have used the weapons herself. "But on the other hand the increase in violence and carnage in our society could not flourish unless the drug kingpin or the criminal emboldened by the use of illegal arms and ammunition received the support and enablement from persons like the defendant" she said. The magistrate stated that the conduct of Gomes should not only stand condemned but should be held in utter abhorrence by every decent-minded citizen. Responding to what Gomes' lawyer had said on Friday, the Magistrate stated that Guyana is not a rich country so the fact that most Guyanese could claim they come from humble beginnings is never an excuse to allow or condone lawless and criminal conduct. She added that she had indicated to the lawyer for Gomes that she was minded to give the maximum sentence the law would allow but she also considered that Gomes had not wasted the court's time. She then handed down the sentences which will all run concurrently with the four years, nine months sentence.
Gomes, dressed in a black skirt suit with an inner white shirt, showed no emotion when the sentence was read to her. A large gathering of supporters turned up at court.
When she first appeared in the magistrate's court, Gomes had pleaded not guilty to the drugs and grenades charges and was not required to plead to the guns and ammunition charges as these were being taken indictably. At the following hearing, an application was made for these matters to be taken summarily and there was no objection. At the next hearing she pleaded guilty to all of the charges.
After Gomes' lawyer Nigel Hughes had made a lengthy plea for leniency on her behalf last Friday, Police Prosecutor Hugh Winter had asked the Magistrate to consider that serious charges were laid against the accused and to look at the type of weapons and the quantity of narcotics found before passing sentence.
Police prosecutor Winter had read the facts of the case which stated that on November 10 acting on information received the police went on a raid in North Ruimveldt where they conducted searches for narcotics and firearms. On arrival at the address Gomes was met in the bottom flat where a search was carried out by the police and the articles were found under a bed. Gomes was told of the offence committed and charged.
Gomes admitted to having 10 kg, 999 grammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking; three fragmentation grenades and one concussion grenade, all being explosives without lawful authority. She is also accused of having two firearms: one AK-47 automatic rifle and an automatic rifle number 008187, 19 7.62 magazines and one pistol magazine without lawful authority. She also allegedly had 1,192 rounds 7.62 x 39 ammunition, 245 rounds 9mm ammunition, 77 rounds .38 special ammunition, 14 rounds of .30 ammunition, 35 rounds .32 ammunition, one round .22 ammunition and 47 12-gauge cartridges without lawful authority.
After the raid on Gomes' residence, the police had then proceeded to the Bel Air Gardens residence of Farouk Razac and Carolan Lynch. They detained the couple after finding a weapon. The two were later charged in the matter and granted bail.
Gomes was represented by attorneys at law Hughes, Mark Waldron, Ronald Burch-Smith and Roger Yearwood.