American woman fined for ammo in luggage
WESTERN BUREAU — Kelly Davis, a resident of Georgia in the United States, was on Wednesday fined $20,000 after she was caught with two .38 cartridges in her luggage while on her way out of the island Tuesday.
The 34 year-old US resident was arrested and charged at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay after her black travelling bag was searched and found to contain the ammunition. At the time of her arrest, she was on her way back to Atlanta.
When the case was brought before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Davis pleaded guilty to the charge of the illegal possession of firearm but said that she did not know it was in her bag.
The ammunition, she told the court, was for her gun, which she used for protection while at home in the US, adding that they were left in the bag as she had not bothered to check it when she was packing her luggage to come to the island.
After hearing her explanation RM Valerie Stephens, who presided over the matter, chided her for her carelessness.
“Ma’am, that is very careless, very careless indeed. You are travelling on an airline,” the RM told her before handing down the $20,000 fine.
If the fine is not paid, Davis will spend three months behind bars.