Father of 2 Avoids Jail Time for Firearm Offences

Darren Dawson

Belize City fruit vendor, Darren Dawson, was spared jail time after he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty today when he presented himself before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford. The thirty-three-year-old father of two faced a charge of kept firearm and ammunition without a gun license. Before being sentenced, Dawson told the senior magistrate that he is the sole breadwinner for his children. Dawson explained that he recently began to walk again after he was left crippled by a gunshot. Instead of a custodial sentence, Senior Magistrate Ford imposed a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars for the firearm which he has to pay by September thirtieth and six-hundred dollars for the ammunition which he has to pay by March third. If he defaults, he will be facing two-years and six-months behind bars. Dawson was caught with a point twenty-five Beretta pistol while he was on North Creek Road on September ninth 2017. The pistol contained two live rounds of ammunition.