US farm tycoon Elton Kennedy fined in Dominica for illegal weapon possession

Famous Farm tycoon from US Elton Kennedy was slapped with a whopping EC$7500 fine after he was found with a 9mm pistol at the airport in Commonwealth of Dominica. The founder and owner of Delta Land & Farm Management of Lousiana was charged on Tuesday and he pleaded guilty to gun-related charges. According to the reports, businessman William Elton Kennedy arrived in Dominica on a private jet with his wife, and two pilots on January 24, 2024. As per reports, he also had in possession two .9mm magazines, one with 11 rounds and the other 13 rounds of ammunition. When the couple arrived at the Douglas Charles Airport in Dominica, William had the gun and ammunition in his possession. The police reports added that at that time, he failed to declare the items to the Customs and Immigration.

According to the information, later on January 28, when the the owner of Delta Land & Farm Management reached the airport to depart, the pilot Phillip Schiatel found the firearm along with the ammunition inside the private jet and informed the airport authorities.

The airport authorities immediately called the police who then took the weapon in their possession. Notably Kennedy admitted that he forgot to mention the weapons and outlined, "I came down with it but did not know that I could not travel with it to Dominica."

This resulted in the police arresting Kennedy, following which he was charged with the importation of a firearm and ammunition into Dominica without any license.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the American tourist pleaded guilty to his failure to notify customs about the weapons, and this resulted in the court withdrawing the above two charges against him.

During his hearing, the Magistrate after listening his plea and knowing that he came for business purposes to Dominica said that he will not impose a custodial sentence on him as he has cooperated completely and pleaded guilty.

Further, the court decided to fine the businessman of EC$7,500.00 for failing to declare a firearm to customs and for the ammunition charge with no separate penalty.The businessman paid the fine immediately and was allowed by the court to return to America via his private jet.

Notably, William Elton Kennedy is the founder and owner of Delta Land & Farm Management. Founded in 1985 it has spread to 180,000 acres of farmland located in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Texas for eighteen clients. The farm giant mainly grows rice, soybeans, corn, grain sorghum, wheat and cotton. They grow for major companies such as Kellogs.