A 41-year-old woman and her two teenage sons from La Horquetta have been denied bail after appearing in court charged with possession of an AR-15 assault rifle.
The family, who cannot be identified as one of the teenagers is still a minor, was remanded into custody after appearing virtually before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay, on Monday.
The woman and her sons were arrested as police executed a search warrant at their home in Phase One, La Horquetta, Arima, last Wednesday.
According to the summary of evidence disclosed during the hearing and obtained by Guardian Media, after police officers entered the property and asked if they had anything illegal, the woman’s 18-year-old son went into a bedroom he shares with his 17-year-old brother and retrieved the firearm, which was wrapped in black plastic and hidden under a crib.
The firearm was loaded and found to contain 31 rounds of 5.56 calibre ammunition.
Making a bail application on behalf of the woman and her 18-year-old son, their lawyer Shervon Noreiga claimed that the woman had a medical condition, which caused her to be hospitalised frequently.
He also claimed that the 18-year-old, who had a clean criminal record before being charged for the firearm, had recently applied to join the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment and was awaiting a response.
The minor, who is 17-years-old, was represented by a duty counsel from the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority (LAAA), who claimed that he is expected to sit CXC examinations, later this year.
After considering the submissions, Dubay still denied them bail.
Guardian Media understands that the family’s lawyer is expected to reapply for bail before a High Court judge on Friday.
The firearm is expected to be taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James for ballistic testing.
The family is scheduled to reappear in court on June 1.
