A Bellevue Chopin man is now on $30,000.00 bail following Magistrate Michael Laudat’s rejection of his guilty plea on three firearms-related offenses.
Mahatma Corriette appeared recently before the court charged with possession of a semi-automatic pistol, two rounds of .765 ammunition, and a firearm magazine. The police made the discovery on June 11, 2023, at Bellevue Chopin.
He pleaded guilty to the firearm charges but not guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, namely a cutlass.
Following his guilty plea, Police Prosecutor Inspector Francis Laville presented the facts of the case to the court.
Thereafter, defense attorney Joshua Francis told the court, based on the instruction of his clients, the facts presented by the police differ from Corriette’s version of events.
The court then granted the accused permission to give his version of the facts, and according to him, on June 9, he was approached by a masked man who was armed with a gun. During the encounter, he managed to get the firearm from the individual and a day later handed the weapon to a police officer.
Corriette claimed the charges were subsequently preferred against him.
Following his statement, Magistrate Laudat said that the court cannot accept the accused’s guilty plea in the interest of justice and further recused himself from the matter.
Corriette was later granted bail in the sum of $30,000.00 with his father Raphael Corriette as his surety.
As part of his bail conditions, he was ordered to report to the Grand Bay Police Station every Monday between the hours of 7:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m.; he must not leave the state without first applying to the court for permission to do so and was further ordered to live an industrious life and not re-offend whilst on bail.
The matter was adjourned to September 25, 2023, at the Grand Bay Magistrate’s Court.
Bellevue Chopin has been transformed into the a gun bursting village coming from the apartments area, closest to the playing field. Almost every night is boom! boom! boom! Gun shootin at air!! I know that many residents of Bellevue Chopin proper, have reported this to the police. I personally signed a petition that was supposed to be sent to the Minister of National Security and the police re the gun shots at night time, coming from one of the apartment areas but the police are all lazies. Nothing has been done!!!
The man is not from Bellevue Chopin. He should be in jail.
After caught with the gun you are carefully contriving your story…I would be even more severe on you because of that..
I do not believe him….He should have been in jail. Guns kill, and the spike in gun murders must not be taken lightly…Examples need to be made of all found with illegal firearms. Wait to hear of more stories like that, as time progresses.
LIAR!!
He LIE!
LIAR!
An example should be made of you!!
The man is from Petite Savanne residing in Bellevue Chopin. So there is no Petite Savanne again??????
I still find the cort is joking with those rogues when found in possession of unlicenced firearms. It should be an automatic jail sentence! No dam bail….With all the gun crimes, and the outcry from the public, the court needs to be more severe.
JAIL HIM!!