BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HER MAJESTY’S PRISON will be home to Lennox Gumbs for the next six years after he was recently convicted and sentenced for possession of firearm and possession of ammunition.
Gumbs, who on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 had turned himself in to police in the company of a lawyer following circulation in the media of a wanted poster, was charged with the offences which were committed on October 26 of the same year.
A police communiqué issued on November 17, 2014 had indicated the charges but did not disclose the characteristics of the firearm, the quantity of ammunition found or where the incident took place.
However, following an investigation by this publication, it was learnt that the incident occurred sometime after 2:00 a.m. on the day in question at St. Johnson’s Avenue.
The investigation also revealed that members of the Delta Squad were conducting a patrol in that area when they observed a suspicious-looking vehicle and decided to stop it.
In so doing, Gumbs, who was in the vehicle along with Rodelle Clarke of Stapleton and Trevlon Stanley of Upper Monkey Hill, disembarked the vehicle and escaped the clutches of the lawmen. And while running away from them, he had discarded a firearm, which was shortly thereafter retrieved by the officers.
A search of the vehicle revealed the find of a quantity of marijuana and Clarke and Stanley, along with the illegal drugs, were taken to the Basseterre Police Station. They were subsequently arrested and charged with possession of cannabis and possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
This is not the first time that Gumbs have had brushes with the law.
On Wednesday, October 3, 2007, he turned himself in at the Basseterre Police Station following an arrest warrant for shooting at with intent. He was subsequently charged with the offence, which was committed on Friday, September 28, 2007.
He was also charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm and one count of illegal possession of ammunition.
According to a police release on that matter, members of the Anti-Gang Unit were conducting a routine operation on Friday, June 19, 2009 during which persons were stopped and searched at Buckley’s Estate.
The release informed that during the searches, Gumbs “ran away from the police…but was later found on the railway track where he was searched”. He was found carrying one .40 calibre pistol and 10 rounds of ammunition.
And on Monday, July 16, 2013, the he and Randy Taylor were set free for the execution-style murder of 19-year-old Trevis Henville which occurred at Upper Shaw Avenue on April 17, 2012.
The two men were found not guilty following no case submissions made by their counsel Dr. Henry Browne and Chesley Hamilton, who were aided by Hesketh Benjamin.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S NOTE: The six-year sentence handed down to Lennox Gumbs is not related to the normal calendar year. He will only be serving four calendar years. In layman terms, eight months is one prison year.
