A 48-year-old Warwick man was sentenced to 30 days in jail for owning parts of a firearm, though his lawyer insisted it was just "junk".

Yesterday Alexander Dean Abbot, of Tribe Road, Warwick, was also fined $5,000 for owning the .22 calibre revolver.

His lawyer Allan Doughty told the court that Abbot had no intentions of using the weapon, which was rusted and missing its chamber and cylinder.

Mr. Doughty also pointed out that Abbot had no ammunition and was waiting for the next gun amnesty to turn it in to Police.

On Thursday Abbot told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner he had found the gun inside an old outhouse and insisted he was not a criminal.

"I'm a developer," he said. "I found the thing in an old outhouse and I made two attempts to hand it in to the Hamilton Police Station, but I was afraid as a black person."

But Mr. Warner said Abbot should have handed it in to Police or thrown it away instead of keeping it. And he said the offence required an immediate custodial sentence considering the current climate in Bermuda and the seriousness of the offence.

He also fined Abbot $500 for possessing fire crackers.