BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 27, 2018– Nicoli Rhys, 27, was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment today by Chief Magistrate Sharon Fraser after she found him guilty of keeping a firearm and ammunition without a gun license.

She had given him the minimum sentence of 3 years for each offence, but he will only serve 3 years in prison because she stipulated that the sentences are to run concurrently.

Three police officers testified that on May 7, 2015, while they were on mobile patrol on Dean Street, they approached Rhys and when Rhys ran, he tripped over a cement block and they saw a gun fall from the waist of his pants.

Police said that when they retrieved the firearm, they saw that it was a 9-millimeter pistol with 9 rounds of ammunition in its magazine.

Rhys testified and denied that any such incident occurred. He said the police had fabricated the story and that he was in Belmopan at the time of the incident.

But Chief Magistrate Fraser said in her ruling that she could not believe that the police would make up a story, and for no reason. She also said that Rhys had not provided her with any reason why the police would lie on him.