A gun that was reported stolen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade last year has resurfaced after it was allegedly used during a fatal shooting incident in Mountain View, St Andrew.
The gun, a Glock pistol, belongs to Millennium Security Limited. It was discovered missing from the ministry's building between December 30 and 31, 2022.
But in a bombshell development, the gun turned up during a shooting in Backbush of the Mountain View community, where it was used in a killing. The police have since charged Akeali Law, a Backbush resident, with simple larceny and receiving stolen property in relation to the stolen gun. Law was employed as an unarmed security guard at the ministry, the same building where the weapon was stolen.
When he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday, where he was arraigned for simple larceny and receiving stolen property, Law's attorney, Jermaine Earl Campbell, said he came in possession of the stolen firearm after disarming men who attempted to kill him.
"Judge, what I was told is that the persons came into his house to attack him," Campbell said, adding that his client managed to disarm the men.
Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque, before whom the matter was brought, stopped short of saying the story had the elements of a movie.
"What are the odds that he works at the company where something went missing? The probability of it going missing and it just pop up to the person? Some people would say this sound incredulous. He is the common denominator to the stolen item," Cole-Montaque expressed.
"No man, this plot, if me did fi write a short story on this, it festive you know, it juicy. This one not normal. This kind of case is popcorn and soda case," she added.
The defence attorney, however, said that based on instructions given to him, "other persons would have access to the area where the thing was and based". He said "it is just a coincidence" that it was found in his client's possession.
The police reported that on June 21, a shooting incident occurred in Backbush where Law was found in a house on the floor, nursing a gunshot wound. He reportedly told the police that he was ambushed in his house by men who shot him. It is further alleged that Law pointed to a firearm under a bed and told the cops that he used the weapon to defend himself and shot the men. It was further reported that one of the men died after being allegedly shot by Law.
The Backbush resident was subsequently charged with murder. However, investigators are awaiting ballistic evidence to verify whether the weapon that was allegedly stolen from the ministry's office was used in the shooting.
The matter was adjourned until September 13 to facilitate the completion of the case file and for Campbell to receive further instructions from Law on how to proceed with the matter.
Law, who did not enter a plea on Thursday, was remanded in custody and was made the subject of a fingerprint order.
