A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to four years and five months in prison for threatening an East End woman with an imitation firearm outside of her home.
Father-of-one Dalton Benjamin Robinson banged on the victim’s door and ordered her to come outside as he pointed a fake 9mm pistol wrapped partly in a jacket in her direction.
He claimed that at the time she knew the weapon was a “toy” but he eventually pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence.
Justice Cheryll Richards handed down the sentence on Friday, 28 April, as she read her written judgment in Grand Court.
On 19 June 2022, Robinson drove a red Honda Legend to Seaview Road in East End, where he stopped and got out of the car.
According to a witness, Robinson had his right hand wrapped in a jacket, the judge told the court, as she read the prosecution’s undisputed summary of facts.
The victim heard noises coming from outside and opened her door to see a man she recognised standing in front of her home, pointing an object at her that resembled a firearm.
She immediately shut the door and locked the windows.
The victim said she knew the defendant as ‘Benji’, who went to school with her sister and said she sometimes saw him around.
A guilty plea
Robinson began pounding on the door and windows to her house and she recalled him saying, “Come outside. I’m not leaving here until you come outside.”
When he was calling at the window, the victim could see he still had the gun in his hand, and she and her boyfriend lay on the floor as he called the police.
By the time police arrived, the man had already left.
The following day, at about 9:30am, the woman opened her front door and saw the same man across the road, so she called her mother to ask her to call the police.
Police arrived and he was arrested and cautioned.
When asked if he had a gun, Robinson said, “They know it is a toy.” During a subsequent search, officers found an imitation firearm on the floor of his car under a seat.
One police officer described it as a plastic toy gun, but the prosecution said it was clear from photographs that it was a realistic replica that closely resembled a 9mm pistol.
On 21 June 2022, the defendant accepted going to the victim’s address but denied possession of a replica firearm or having anything wrapped around his arm.
He later pleaded guilty on 14 Oct. 2022.
Victim’s fear
In her impact statement, the victim said, “The only issue that I have is that I keep thinking that he will come back and do something to us or send someone to do something to us.”
Robinson’s social inquiry report said he had a troubled childhood which it described as “lacking” and “dysfunctional”.
The death of his primary carers – his grandmother and aunt – affected him deeply, leading to alcohol and substance misuse, and criminal offences, it added.
He has 19 previous convictions including possession of an imitation firearm, robbery and common assault, and his risk of reoffending was assessed as “very high”.
The judge took these factors into account when handing down her judgment.
“This was not a chance event,” she said. “It was deliberately done to frighten the [victim].
“There’s nothing in the defendant’s personal circumstances which suggests that an immediate custodial sentence is avoidable.”
She sentenced Robinson to four years and five months and said he will have access to psychosocial programmes to address his criminal and antisocial behaviour.
According to Section 18 (6) of the Firearms Act (2008 Revision), someone who possesses an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence is liable on conviction to a fine of up to $100,000 or imprisonment for up to 20 years.
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