PHILIPSBURG--Former Finance Minister and acting Minister of Justice Richard Gibson Sr. (80) was sentenced to a year of probation on Wednesday for trying to pass through Princess Juliana International Airport with an air gun on September 15, 2024.
The Court of First Instance also handed the well-known politician and local lawyer a fine of US $250, which he would only be forced to pay if he committed another criminal offence during the probationary period.
Air guns are non-lethal firearms that fire metal or plastic pellets using pressurised air or gas. Many are classified as illegal under local firearm laws because they are often designed to look like real guns, which can facilitate crimes such as robbery or intimidation.
Customs officers saw the weapon during a scan of Gibson’s bags in the airport’s arrival hall. Gibson told the court on Wednesday that he had bought the weapon in a Panamanian shopping mall and did not believe he needed permission from the justice minister to enter St. Maarten with it.
Defence lawyer Shaira Bommel pleaded for her client’s acquittal, arguing that some air guns are not classified as illegal weapons and investigators had not bothered to conduct a technical or forensic investigation into the one they had seized from Gibson.
“An expert needs to determine if it’s an illegal air pistol,” Bommel said. “How can anyone know that from beforehand?”
The prosecutor disagreed, telling the court that, “without a doubt” the air gun fell under the Firearm Ordinance. He called on the judge to impose a fine of $1,000.
“It looks exactly like a real gun,” the prosecutor said. “It is an illegal weapon, any way you look at it.”
Bommel argued that even if Gibson was guilty, he should not face criminal penalties.
She pointed to a letter from then-caretaker Justice Minister Lyndon Lewis on November 20, 2024, which confirmed that Gibson was allowed to have the weapon because no permit was needed. The defence lawyer also noted that St. Maarten Customs had later returned the air gun to Gibson.
The prosecutor argued that Lewis’ letter was irrelevant because permission needed to be obtained before Gibson entered St. Maarten. He also said Customs had made an administrative mistake by handing over the weapon, incorrectly doing so without the required approval from the Prosecutor’s Office.
The judge found Gibson guilty in his verdict, agreeing with the prosecutor that the minister’s permission did not count after the fact.
The judge did rule that Gibson’s actions did not show “any criminal intent”, but the mere fact that the weapon was in his bag proved possession. He then sentenced the first-time offender to a conditional fine and probation.
Gibson has the right to appeal Wednesday’s verdict, which would send his case to be tried before a panel of three appellate judges.
Gibson served as Finance Minister from November 2015 to January 2018 in the two cabinets of former Prime Minister William Marlin. He was also acting Justice Minister from November 2015 to January 2016.
