A Sandys man with a history of violence has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars for handling a firearm used to kill two men.

Terry Thomas, 56, from Sound View Road, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of handling a .38 calibre revolver and ammunition, which were discovered by police on his property.

The court heard the firearm has been linked to the attempted murder of Zico Majors, who was targeted in a shooting in the Khyber Heights area of Warwick, and the double murder of Haile Outerbridge and Rico Furbert, who were gunned down inside Belvin’s Variety in Pembroke.

Thomas was arrested on April 24, 2013 on suspicion of possessing a firearm. Officers searching the property noticed a detached truck back in the yard. Stashed inside they discovered a bag containing a firearm, loaded with three live rounds and three spent rounds, and a piece of paper containing another three live rounds. A search of a car on the property meanwhile revealed an empty pistol magazine.

Interviewed by police, Thomas immediately acknowledged possessing the items, explaining that he discovered them in a bag by a popular fishing spot around three weeks before his arrest.

He said he had considered turning the weapon over to police, but because he had already touched it he was concerned he would be charged with an offe­nce.

Thomas also told police that while he was friendly with people he believed to be members of the Somerset-based Money Over Bitchez gang, he would never agree to hold a firearm for them.

Prosecutor Maria Sofianos called for a sentence of between 12 and 14 years in prison, arguing that Thomas was well aware of the consequences of keeping a firearm and had shown utter contempt of the law by holding on to the weapon. She also noted that Thomas had a history of violent offences and had served time for attacking officers with a pipe.

Defence lawyer Charles Richardson however argued for a lesser sentence, saying the self-employed father of three had admitted handling the weapon from the very beginning of the investigation.

“He found himself in a sticky situation and he didn’t make the right decision,” Mr Richardson said. “He was afraid. He had some reason to be afraid because he doesn’t have the best relationship history with the police.”

Thomas himself told the court that when he first discovered the firearm he considered throwing it into the ocean, but decided against it because he had seen officers recover fingerprints from motorcycles found overboard. He said that at the time, there was talk of a firearms amnesty being put in place, so he chose to hold on to the weapon until then.

He also told the court that he had planned to smash the empty magazine, but had tossed it into the car when someone came into the yard, interrupting him.

“I’m actually glad that it was recovered by police because now I know no one else will get shot with it,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that I have to face the charges for my careless attitude in not taking it in. I was afraid, I was just finishing my parole.”

Delivering his sentence, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves called the defendant “too dangerous a person” to be in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

“This is a defendant with an established history of violence and among his convictions is one of a serious assault against two police officers with a weapon at his home on Sound View Road where the firearm and ammunition was found,” he said.

He added it was “difficult, perhaps absurd” to accept the defendant’s claim that he had separated the items in order to destroy the empty magazine, but noted that Thomas had admitted his guilt to officers during his first interview and deserved some discount as a result.

Given all the circumstances, he found that a sentence of 12 years for both the firearm and ammunition charge would be appropriate, ordering the sentences to run concurrently with the time already spent in custody taken into account. He further ordered that the defendant serve at least half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

He then told Thomas: “You need to learn to see trouble and stay out of it. You are too old for these things.”