A 28-year-old Venezuelan woman who was sobbing uncontrollably before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, was on Tuesday jailed for three years after pleading guilty to a possession of ammunition charge.
Paz Osmarlyn Siso Piňo admitted to the court that on August 2, 2016, at Aurora Mountain Top, Essequibo, she had in her possession 10 live .38 rounds of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence.
The prosecution’s case revealed that Police ranks, acting upon information, conducted a search on the defendant and discovered the ammunition.
An immigration officer acted as a translator in the case for the defendant when she appeared in court on Tuesday.
Despite her guilty plea, she kept proclaiming her innocence throughout the matter which prompted the Magistrate to question her understanding of the charge and plea.
On this note the charge was read to her a second time and she was also allowed to plea for a second time. Before she could have pleaded the second time, after listening to the charge, which was translated by the immigration officer, she enquired what the consequences of the guilty plea were.
It was due to her enquiries that Magistrate Daly believed the defendant was fully cognisant of the allegations made against her and continued with her ruling.
