Man Admits Importing BB Gun Into Bermuda

March 5, 2014

Appearing in Magistrates Court this morning [Mar 5], a 28 year old man admitted importing a BB gun into Bermuda, however he denied an additional charge of damaging an electronic monitoring device.

Devonne Hodgson pleaded guilty to importing a BB gun through LF Wade International Airport in August 2013. The Court heard that  Customs pulled Mr. Hodgson aside for a secondary search, and a search of his bags turned up parts of a dismantled BB gun.

Hodgson had initially told Customs that they were parts for a toy for his son, but admitted to Police that the parts were for a BB gun.

Hodgson then pleaded not guilty to willfully damaging an electronic monitoring device [EMD] that he had been ordered to wear after his initial appearance in Magistrate’s Court in August 2013 on the BB gun matter. The EMD was said to have a value of $3,500.

The Magistrate ordered a hearing on the alleged bail violations for 20th March, sentencing on the BB gun charge for April, and remanded Mr. Hodgson in custody.

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Comments (13)

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  1. sad says:

    idiot! now ya up west!

  2. Triangle Drifter says:

    A BB gun. Something that can be bought in the toy department of Walmart. In Bermuda it is treated as if it were an assault rifle.

    • Watcher says:

      try telling the difference between a BB gun and a real one when someone sticks it in your face and demands money. I bet you’ll not be thinking “I think I saw that one in walmart” then!

      • IB says:

        Having played with BB guns a lot as a kid, I would laugh if someone tried to rob me with a Wal-Mart BB gun. These are kids guns after all… they only dangerous if you shoot your eye out. When fired at you, a BB gun will feel like a bee sting (more or less, depending on if it takes metal or plastic BBs and its power). People here are so scared of guns because they have no experience with them.

    • Mike Hind says:

      A BB gun. Something that can be bought in the toy department of Walmart.

      That is illegal to have in Bermuda. Bottom line.

      It’s illegal.

    • mixitup says:

      Do you see any Walmart’s in Bermuda TRIANGLE DRIFTER??

      • Triangle Drifter says:

        Your point?

        Mine is the small mindedness of Bermuda. A BB gun may be capable of a sting at close range but is lethal very little larger than a roach.

    • Somerset OG says:

      BB guns can be lethal and at the very least take an eye out. I have a bb pellet that has been stuck in my leg for 28 years. It’s too deep for them to risk taking it out.

      • Somerset OG says:

        Correction. I have a BB and not a BB pellet in my leg.

  3. to harm or do harm…intention is an incrimination of wrong doing,self protection is another all good intention …or all bad…it is not to be determined as supposition…but more a matter of possesion and lawful possesion…it is the intent of law that determines lawful possesion…not phseudo inception thereof…

  4. Bermy Cents says:

    Sentencing for a toy is stupid. Just a fine is appropriate. Cops don’t have real guns so its understandable that you can’t have bb guns.

    • Somerset OG says:

      Most BB-firing airguns guns can shoot faster than 200 ft/s (61 m/s). Some airguns have the ability to fire considerably faster, even beyond 550 ft/s (170 m/s). Although claims are often exaggerated, a few airguns can actually fire a standard 0.177 caliber lead pellet faster than 1,000 ft/s (300 m/s), but these are generally not BB-firing guns.

      A BB with a velocity of 150 ft/s (46 m/s) has skin piercing capability, and a velocity reaching 200 ft/s (61 m/s) can fracture bone.[4] The potential can exist for delivering a fatal injury; this potential increases with velocity, but also rapidly decreases with distance. The effective penetrating range of a BB gun with a muzzle velocity of 400 to 600 feet per second (120 to 180 m/s) is approximately 60 feet (18 m). A person wearing jeans at this distance would not sustain serious injury. However, even at this distance a BB still might penetrate bare skin, and even if not, could leave a severe and painful bruise. The maximum range of a BB gun in the 400 to 600 ft/s (120 to 180 m/s) range is 240 to 350 yards (220 to 320 m), provided the muzzle is elevated to the optimum angle.

      Steel BBs are also notably prone to ricochet off hard surfaces such as brick, concrete or metal. Eye protection is essential when shooting BBs. More so than when shooting lead pellets, since a BB bouncing off a hard surface can retain a large portion of its initial energy (pellets usually flatten and absorb energy), and could easily cause serious eye damage.

  5. Common cent$ says:

    Just another example of someone not respecting the law. BB guns can look very much like a real gun btw- they have no place here in today’s Bermuda!