A Haitian woman who was in the country illegally was yesterday sentenced to the mandatory minimum of four years on a gun possession charge.

Celicia Belton, of The Mudd, Abaco, admitted to having a .380 pistol when she appeared in the Gun Court.

Police officers in Abaco found the firearm hidden in a sofa during a search.

Belton, who pleaded guilty through a Haitian-Creole interpreter, asked Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt to have mercy on her.

Ferguson-Pratt explained that the punishment for gun possession was a range of four to seven years.

The magistrate said that she did not think Belton deserved the maximum penalty and sentenced her to four years.

Belton's co-defendant Germain Dumercie denied the charge.

Dumercie, who is in the country legally, was granted $10,000 bail with two sureties. He makes his next court appearance on September 27.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian