Devon Thomas, 22, and Randy Isaac, 19, were yesterday sentenced to 75 years each in jail, after being found guilty of murdering 25-year-old businessman Kumar Mohabir, on Mashramani Day, 2013.
The sentences were handed down by Justice Navindra Singh, after a 12-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following three hours of deliberation. The judge ordered that the men not be eligible for parole, until after they would have spent 40 years behind bars.
The two were on trial in the High Court for the murder of Mohabir, of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, who died of multiple stab wounds, in the wee hours of the morning of February 24, 2013.
Justice Singh explained to the two young men that his sentencing began at a base of 60 years. He then informed them that 10 years were added for the injuries inflicted, while he added another five years for the cruelty of the attack.
Asked by the judge’s clerk whether they had anything to say as to why the court should not go ahead and pass sentence on them, a visibly shocked Thomas, holding a Quran in his hand, said, “I am innocent about this charge, the only person can judge me, is Allah.”
After addressing the court, Thomas sat in the prisoners’ dock, with his head bent on the Quran which he cradled in his hands; shaking his head in seeming disbelief.
Meanwhile, Isaac who also held a Quran, and wore an expressionless look on his face, said, “I’m innocent.”
As they were being escorted from the courtroom, Thomas patted his grandfather’s head as he walked past the elderly man who sat still, watching his grandson being whisked away to prison.
The verdict and sentences were received with sighs of relief by Mohabir’s family. Relatives of the convicts could however be heard making sounds of distress.
One woman broke into tears and had to be consoled, while a number of persons got up and left the courtroom, prompting the police to order persons to remain seated in a bid to maintain order.
Advancing factors of mitigation on behalf of their respective clients, attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Peter Hugh, said that they had previously unblemished records, and had no pending matters.
Rahamat who represented Thomas, said her client was 19 years old at the time he was charged and had a fixed address at 95 Better Hope South, East Coast Demerara.
Hugh meanwhile, who said that his client was 17 years old at the time of the incident, begged the court to impose a minimum sentence.
After being called to lead their defence on Monday, the young men had proclaimed their innocence, after giving un-sworn statements from the prisoners’ dock, in which they expressed a desire to go home and be reunited with their families.
The state’s case as presented by Prosecutor Stacy Goodings, in association with attorney Diana Kaulesar, is that on Mashramani Day, Kumar, who was with his family, was attacked by Thomas and Isaac, along with other persons.
She said he was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Main prosecution witness and eyewitness, Navindra Mohabir, Kumar’s brother, had testified that Thomas and Isaac, both of whom he said he knew well, were the men who stabbed and beat both him and his now dead brother.
Navindra had maintained under cross-examination that he was not mistaken about the identities of the two. “When I see them, I recognise them right away, ’cause I know them,” he had emphasised.
In directing the jury, Justice Singh explained how the law needed to be applied to the facts of the case. He emphasised to the jurors that they were the “judges of fact,” while he was the “judge of the law.”
The trial which commenced on March 16, saw nine witnesses who testified on behalf of the state which included policemen and civilians. With the exception of the convicts each giving unsworn testimonies however, no witnesses were called by the defence.