A Guyanese brother and sister and her boyfriend who faced second-degree murder charges for killing a Guyanese man in Schenectady, New York last year pleaded guilty to a lesser felony today hours before jury selection was set to begin in their trial, according to the Times Union newspaper.
Vishan “Anthony” Parbhudial, 23, and Angelene Parbhudial, 21, and Angelene Parbhudial’s boyfriend, Richard Baliraj, 21, pleaded guilty this morning in Schenectady County Court to second-degree gang assault in the shooting death of Ganesh Ramgoolam in front of the Parbhudial home Feb. 20, 2010.
The report said that Angelene Parbhudial will be sentenced to five years in state prison, her brother Vishan, to seven years, and Baliraj, to 10 years. Sentencing is set for April 8. On Friday, the Parbhudials’ cousin, Dhanashar “Tony” Persaud, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for firing shots from his .22 calibre gun that killed Ramgoolam. The victim’s car was purposely blocked in on the dead-end street so that the Parbhudials could attack, the report said.
Persaud will likely be sentenced to 17 to 18 years to life in prison, also on April 8.
They will all likely be deported to — Guyana and, in the case of Baliraj, Trinidad — after serving their sentences because they are not
American citizens.
The Times Union report said that Schenectady County Chief Assistant District Attorney Philip Mueller said Ramgoolam was an innocent bystander caught up in a bitter dispute between the Parbhudials and another Guyanese group. On the night of Feb. 20. 2010, Ramgoolam was at a party on Lincoln Avenue and got involved in a profanity-laced tirade on the phone between the Parbhudials and their nemeses.
“When Ramgoolam and a friend from the party drove up to the Parbuhdial house, they were surrounded. Persaud stood on a nearby driveway; Vishan Parbhudial hid in his father’s minivan with a shotgun; Baliraj was near a vacant house and shot one round from his AK-47 assault rifle; and Angelene Parbhudial stayed near her house with a baseball bat, Mueller said.”, according to the Times Union.
When Ramgoolam, 24, exited the car, he was shot five times. He died at the scene. A mechanic for the Capital District Transportation Authority, Ramgoolam was the father of 9-month-old and 20-month-old children.
The defendants’ varying sentences for gang assault were based on the threat level they posed to the victim, the report said.
Last week another Parbhudial sibling, Adrian, 25, was convicted in a jury trial of attempted aggravated murder for shooting at two Schenectady police officers during a raid on home at 935 Maple Ave. in relation to the Ramgoolam homicide investigation. Adrian Parbhudial faces a minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
Omawattie Parbhudial, the Parbhudials’ mother, is awaiting trial on multiple counts of hindering the prosecution.
