DPP outlines sequence leading to likely gun charge against Paulwell Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Member of Parliament (MP) for East Kingston and Port Royal, Phillip Paulwell, is likely to be soon charged by the police with losing a firearm through negligence following the theft of his licensed firearm in July.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, in a statement on Monday, outlined the chronological order of events leading to her office’s ruling that a charge be laid against the People’s National Party (PNP) politician.

She said the office was doing so in order to bring clarity to the events leading to the legal opinion being made and submitted to the police.

Up to Monday it was not clear whether Paulwell had so far been charged.

According to local media reports, the parliamentarian said he was heading home on a date in July, when he made an emergency stop in Hope Pastures, St Andrew. After returning to his vehicle, a window to his car was reportedly found smashed, and a bag containing a pouch with the firearm was gone.

Paulwell, in an interview with a local media house, asserted that the situation was not one of negligence, as he was dealing with an emergency at the time the firearm was stolen.

At the same time, he said he found it odd that the police had taken such a long time to announce that he would be charged. He said he reported the weapon being stolen the day after the car window-smashing incident.

In a statement, Llewellyn has sought to clarify the chronological order of events since her office received the case file on October 20, as is outline below.

Paula Llewellyn

“In order to bring clarity pertaining to the chronology of events that led to a ruling by the ODPP (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions), I will outline the relevant list of activities in the sequence in which they took place as follows:

Chronology

1. By letter dated October 18, 2022, the police authority from the St Andrew Central headquarters requested a ruling from the ODPP in respect of a report by Mr Phillip Paulwell of larceny of his bag containing his licence firearm, rounds of ammunition, and malicious destruction of his Toyota Prado, specifically a window of the vehicle. This incident allegedly occurred on July 7, 2022.

2. This letter from the police, along with a case file, was received in to the ODPP on Thursday, October 20, 2022.

3. On Monday, October 24, 2022, the matter was assigned to a deputy director of public prosecutions for the relevant research to be done and the preparation of a legal opinion.

4. On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, the legal opinion was completed by the deputy director of public prosecutions.

5. On Thursday, the 27th of October 2022, I consulted with the deputy director of public prosecutions and confirmed that the charge for losing a firearm through negligence contrary to section 41A of the Firearms Act be preferred against Mr Phillip Paulwell, MP, and

6. On Friday, October 28, 2022, the ruling was sent out for dispatch to the police authorities in St Andrew Central headquarters for processing according to their usual protocols.”

Meanwhile, Llewellyn advised that though the ODPP will be requested to consult with investigators, do case conferences, and prepare rulings upon request, “we are not an investigative body”.

She elaborated that, “We operate under section 94 of the Constitution in terms of prosecution, and we prepare rulings on a request by the investigative authorities who will provide case files with statements and other documents for our consideration.

“As was stated in the case of the Commissioner of Police and Attorney General v Steadroy Benjamin [2014] UKPC 8, it is the investigator (law enforcement) who always retains primacy of decision-making to investigate, arrest and charge, or the decision not to pursue a case against any citizen,” the statement quoted Llewellyn as further saying.

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