BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TERRENCE ‘JT’ RITCHEN, one of the three individuals charged on Tuesday (Oct. 27) with illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition was last week sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Speaking today (Nov. 1) with this publication, Acting Commissioner of Police Stafford Liburd said Ritchen had appeared in Court last Thursday (Oct. 29), pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to serve seven years at Her Majesty’s Prison.
He stated that the other individuals, Ivette ‘Ibo’ Richards and Eric ‘Jun-Jun’ Thompson, were freed of both charges.
A police communiqué had stated that members of the Special Services Unit had launched an operation in the Southeast Peninsula on the day in question. It informed that at approximately 1:25 p.m. during the operation, the officers had stopped and searched a vehicle, PA 4952, owned and driven by Richards.
“The search yielded one .40mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with a magazine of (8) eight rounds of .40mm ammunition. Two (2) other persons were in the vehicle, Terrence Ritchen alias "JT" of Newtown, a resident of Jessups Village, Nevis and Eric Thompson alias "Jun-Jun" of Ponds Pasture.
“All three (3) persons have been arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition,” the communiqué read.
That had been the second illegal firearm within a week to be removed from the streets of St. Kitts and Nevis; the first was on Wednesday (Oct. 21) in Sandy Point. These two have taken to 17 the amount of illegal firearms seized for the year.
