A teenager has been jailed for 16 years for robbery and unlawful use of a firearm.

Elmer Wright, who is now 18 years old, held up Bodden Town gas station last June

The judge also sentenced the teen to the minimum sentence of ten years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and seven years for the possession of ammunition, all to run concurrently with the twelve year prison term for robbery.

The judge found that, despite the defendant’s age, it was important for the court to send a clear message, otherwise public confidence in the justice system was at risk.

“The court must bear in mind the welfare of young offenders but when they deliberately commit serious offences, as the case now before the court, there is a legitimate public expectation that the defendant is severely punished,” he said. The judge added that the sentence had to also serve as a warning to other would-be offenders.