–cut woman’s neck with knife
Guyanese Munilall Sarjoo was last month slapped with a sentence of 30 months and a ten-year weapons ban when he appeared in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, Canada after being found guilty of aggravated assault and weapons possession.
According to court documents which this newspaper has seen, the 39-year-old illegal immigrant, who arrived in Canada in November 2004, had applied for refugee status which was denied. He subsequently exhausted all rights of appeal and a notice regarding deportation was sent to his mother’s address in Toronto in August last year.
With regard to his current conviction, Sarjoo, who is married to a legal permanent resident of the USA, had cut the neck of a woman who refused to have sex with him. According to the facts of the case, the complainant was walking along the street around 1.15 am on July 30, 2006 when Sarjoo drove up alongside her and propositioned her.
The woman refused and entered a nearby restaurant. However, when she emerged from the restaurant, Sarjoo was waiting in his car and he proceeded to follow her. After she continually refused him, Sarjoo stopped the car and chased the woman down the street. He caught up with her and held a knife to her throat, applying pressure. The woman screamed and Sarjoo ran away and left in his car.
Women in the area went to the complainant’s aid and called 911. The complainant gave a description of Sarjoo and his car to the police and he was arrested some minutes later. Police found a green knife in his pocket with blood on the blade. Sarjoo was charged with aggravated assault in this matter and subsequently pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, but received a credit of pre-sentence custody of 12 months and will therefore serve 18 months.
The judge also told him that he would be subject to “a mandatory weapons prohibition order pursuant to Section 109(1) (a) of the Criminal Code. As this is your first conviction in Canada, that order will be for ten years.”
The judge also related that after Sarjoo pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, he was formally found guilty of this charge on September 29, 2008. However, the sentencing hearing did not proceed as originally scheduled as Sarjoo did not attend court. A bench warrant was issued and once Sarjoo was arrested, there were various attendances and adjournments at Sarjoo’s request until the sentencing hearing finally began on April 3, 2009.
On September 29, 2008, the judge had ordered a pre-sentence probation report. However, the probation and parole officer could not find Sarjoo. It was not until late November, that the probation officer was informed by Canada Border Services and Toronto Police that Sarjoo was in the custody of the United States Border Service.
Two shirts and two pants
According to testimony given by a Border Patrol Agent with the US Department of Homeland Security, on October 25, 2008, the police in Clay Township in Michigan alerted border patrol that they had Sarjoo in custody and wanted an immigration check on him. Border patrol determined that Sarjoo was in the US illegally.
When questioned, Sarjoo claimed that he had been drinking with a friend called ‘Indian Joe’ at Walpole Island and that they crossed the St Claire River in a hunting boat with some friends, following which they drank all night at a bar at Harsen’s Island in the US until 6 am. However, Sarjoo could not name the bar.
Further, the agent testified that when he was arrested, Sarjoo was wearing two shirts and two pairs of pants one over the other and that he had US$900 and Cdn$1,155. According to the agent, in all of the cases of persons, who have illegally entered the United States, that he has dealt with in his two years on the job, those persons have been found to be wearing two layers of clothing and in possession of large quantities of cash. However, he also admitted that it was cold in October and therefore it was not unusual for persons in that area to be wearing two layers of clothing.
Probation report
According to the pre-sentence probation report, which was submitted in February this year, Sarjoo was born in Guyana in 1970. He attended school up Grade Five (Primary Three), leaving when his father died to work to help with the family’s income. Sarjoo told the probation officer that he does not intend to upgrade his education and described himself as functionally illiterate. He worked in construction and that has become his vocation, the report said. Apparently he has worked as a general labourer with a construction company over the years. He reports no organised recreation or leisure activities.
Sarjoo entered the United States as a construction worker in 1997 on a work visa which expired. He then entered Canada in November 2004 and applied for refugee status.
Sarjoo’s application for refugee status was dismissed on August 15, 2008 and a notice was sent to him on that date that his mother received. He is subject to a deportation order.
