A Southampton teenager who originally denied possessing an air pistol and drugs changed his plea to guilty yesterday and did not seek bail.

Josef Derrick Smith of Horseshoe Lane, was arrested December 30 when Police officers raided his home under the suspicion that he had a firearm.

When he first appeared in court on January 3, he denied all charges and was given $50,000 bail, required to surrender his travel documents and report to Hamilton Police Station twice weekly. However, he refused bail.

The 19-year old appeared in Magistrates' Court yesterday before Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo and pleaded guilty to possession of a .177 calibre Marksman repeater pistol and to possession 16.21 grams of the controlled drug cannabis.

The court heard from Senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney at 5.32 a.m. on Sunday, December 30, Police raided Smith's home with warrants and found him in the house with a woman.

The defendant was informed he was being arrested under the suspicion of possession of a firearm.

When officers asked him if he had any drugs, Smith said he had some "weed" on the kitchen counter.

When asked if he had a firearm, he denied it.

However, during a search of his bedroom, officers found the firearm in the top drawer of a chest of drawers.

Smith said it was a BB gun and asked: "Can you just throw it in the trash or something?"

While searching the kitchen, officers found a bag of clear plastic twist containing plantlike material in a cupboard. Smith said the drugs belonged to him.

The drugs were put in a plastic evidence bag and sealed while the gun was put in a brown paper bag then a Police evidence bag and sealed.

Smith's lawyer, Charles Richardson asked for a Social Inquiry Report to be ready when his client appears in court for sentencing.

Because Smith did not apply for bail, he was remanded into custody until sentencing on March 14.