NASSAU-A magistrate jailed an ex-con who claimed he needed a gun to protect himself for 3 ½ years.
Elvin Taylor, 27, of Windsor Lane, pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition when he appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes on May 27.
Police arrested Taylor on May 25. He had a 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol, with its serial number erased, and 15 rounds of ammunition.
Taylor’s been to prison for having an illegal firearm before. In 2015, a magistrate sentenced him to two years in prison.
This time, Taylor said he had the gun for protection because he’d been robbed multiple times within weeks.
Forbes asked Taylor how he planned to use the gun against a robber.
Taylor claimed that he would “scare him.”
Forbes said, “If you have a gun and he has a gun, then what next?”
“Having a firearm doesn’t add protection to you at all. If anything, it escalates an already tense situation.”
Taylor’s lawyer Ian Cargill asked the court to be as lenient as possible, considering his previous conviction and early plea.
Cargill said there was no evidence that the gun was linked to any other criminal activity.
Forbes considered Taylor’s prior conviction and early plea in arriving at his sentence.
Having a gun don’t add protection at all?this is one of the stupidest thing I have ever heard. People carry guns all round the world and stop armed robberys and deadly home invasions.