Pair Sentenced After Gun Found at Police Station

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A woman and her boyfriend were both handed prison terms of two years and six months after a gun and ammunition were found in the bathroom of the Grove Police Station. 

Officers attached to Operation Ceasefire stopped the car that Annette Johnson and Deno Smith were traveling in on May 18, 2022. 

Before the officers searched the vehicle, Smith allegedly handed his girlfriend a .40mm pistol because the male officers couldn’t search her.

Johnson hid the firearm in her underwear. However, they were both arrested after the officers found $8,000 in in the car, which they suspected was the proceeds of crime.

As a result, Smith and Johnson were taken to the Grove Police Station.

Once at the station, Johnson asked to use the bathroom. Sergeant 3622 Vanessa Henfield testified that she allowed Johnson to use the bathroom after she searched it.

Soon after Johnson was returned to her cell, Henfield received information that led her to search the bathroom again, the court heard. While looking inside the toilet tank, Henfield found a .40mm pistol and a magazine containing 13 live rounds of .40mm ammunition.

As a result, Henfield collected Johnson from the cell and questioned her about the discovery.

Johnson told the officers that the gun belonged to her boyfriend. In her testimony, she alleged that she hid the gun under duress because she was afraid of her boyfriend.

For his part, Smith, who has pending cases for attempted murder and armed robbery, remained silent.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney convicted the pair at the conclusion of their trial.

They were each sentenced to two years and six months for the gun and will serve a one year sentence for the ammunition at the same time.