Crawford returns to dock over firearms charge

(CNS): A West Bay man who was recently freed on appeal from a mandatory ten year prison sentence after he was convicted of possession of an unlicensed firearm will return to the dock on Thursday facing the same charges, following his arrest in the early hoursof Sunday morning in George Town. Robert Aaron Crawford (21) was arrested and subsequently charged after a foot chase on Sheddon Road at the weekend, when officers from the Unit Support Group recovered a loaded gun that the suspect was believed to have thrown away during the police chase. The USG officers were patrolling the area when they approached Crawford, who immediately took flight.

The officers followed on foot and say they saw him discarded an object as he ran. When Crawford was apprehended, according to a police report, a search of the area where he was seen to toss an object uncovered a hand gun and several rounds of ammunition, in an eerily similar set of circumstances that landed him in jail following an incident in November 2011

A suspected West Bay gang member, Crawford was sentenced to a decade behind bars in January of this year following his conviction in 2012. However, the conviction was overturned in August by the Court of Appeal and Crawford was released from prison. Since his arrest on Sunday following just two months of freedom, he has been remanded in custody.