Three of the five youths who pleaded guilty to killing retired professor Pairaudeau ‘Perry’ Mars were yesterday morning sentenced to a combined 34 years behind bars by Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court.
Describing the case as a “very sad” one for the offenders and their families as well as the family of the deceased, Justice Singh said it was quite disturbing how Nikesha Dover, Orin McRae and Naomi Adams whom he said “are still kids,” got involved in such a crime. On this point, the judge said that they were children “who should have been protected.”
The trio along with two other youngsters were all indicted with the capital offence for Mars’ death. Dover, McRae and Adams pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, while the capital charge is still pending against the other two accused.
Last month, the three threw themselves at the mercy of the court, pleading guilty to unlawfully killing Mars. They accepted that on May 12th, 2016, they unlawfully killed the professor during a robbery at his Prashad Nagar home. Their sentencing had, however, been deferred for preparation of probation reports, which were submitted to the court at yesterday’s hearing. Those reports were not read out in the court, but references were made to them.
Dover, McRae and Adams in their respective addresses to the court said that they were very sorry for their actions. In tears, the two young women asked both their families and that of the deceased for forgiveness. Adams said that while she was present at the scene of the killing, she did nothing to contribute to the professor’s death, but emphasised that she has “learned her lesson the hard way about following friends.” “Sometimes your best friend can be your worst enemy,” the young woman said.
Asked what she intends to do with her life once released from prison, Adams, 18, said to live a positive life and find a job.
Meanwhile, Dover, who is now 20-years-old, said that she wants to pursue a career in childcare, which has long been her passion.
Asked the same question, 19-year-old McRae told Justice Singh that he, too, intends to find a job and contribute positively to society.
In mitigation, the attorneys who represented the offenders each asked the court to consider that they were only juveniles at the time they comitted the offence and, against this background, begged the judge for mercy. Dover was 17 years old at the time of the crime, McRae was 16 and Adams was 15. The attorneys also asked the court to consider that their clients had pleaded at the first-given opportunity, thus saving the court considerable time in otherwise having to conduct trials.
Dover was represented by attorney Mohammed Ali; McRae by attorney Adrian Thompson and Adams by attorney Mark Conway.
Ali further asked Justice Singh to consider that according to the probation report prepared on Dover, she was described by members of her community as outspoken, yet quiet and respectful. He said, too, that she has been participating in anger management sessions in prison. “She now knows what it is like to have restrained freedom,” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, Thompson said that his young client, who has not properly benefitted from a sound academic upbringing, had found himself making the wrong choices due to peer pressure. In his address to the court, counsel also told the court that McRae hailed from the community of Sophia, which he says is plagued by manifold social ills. According to Thompson, while the young man’s actions are not to be excused, he indicated that he had gone to Mars’ home with the understanding that they would only be stealing a number of items, but that he hadn’t the slightest idea that any harm would be done to the professor himself.
As for attorney Conway, he begged the judge to consider that his client had come from what he described as a “fractured family” structure, having lost her mother at the tender age of 11 years. He said that she was then left in the care of her 74-year-old grandmother. At the time of her arrest, Adams was found with Mars’ cellular phone.
For her part, however, Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy in no uncertain terms told Thompson that the community of Sophia ought not be blamed for his client’s actions, as it had also produced many citizens of reputable character. Hardy, who called the killing utterly senseless, said that as a matter of fact, it was McRae who made a conscious decision to participate in the crime during which he stole an X-box from the deceased man’s home. “Such acts cannot be tolerated,” she said.
In her address relating to Dover, whom she said was the mastermind of the crime, Hardy said that for the young woman, robbing Mars was not enough and she killed him as well. The young woman was found in possession of Mars’ laptop computer. The prosecutor asked the judge to impose sentences that would reflect the nature and gravity of the offence, so that strong messages would be sent to society that such actions will not be condoned, and that potential offenders would be deterred. The prosecutor said that Mars’ wife and family are still affected by the crime and his loss.
In handing down sentence, Justice Singh said that he had considered all the factors of the case—both mitigating and aggravating. “Wickedness begot wickedness,” the judge said, while adding that while they were “kids,” they had to be sentenced for what they had done. The judge explained that because of certain legal principles which applied in the case, it was immaterial that some persons out of the group may not have directly done anything which caused Mars’ death. The were all charged as participants to a joint-enterprise. He encouraged each of the youngsters to pursue schooling while behind bars so that once released they would be better able to make the valuable contributions to society as they have committed to doing. To Dover and McRae, he imposed a sentence of 12 years each, with deductions to be made for time spent on remand while awaiting trial. Meanwhile, for Adams who was the youngest among the group at the time the offence was committed, he sentenced him to 10 years with deductions to also be made for time spent.
The prosecution’s case is that the youths had gone to Mars’ house, where they assisted in holding him down as others in their company choked him. Thereafter, the prosecutor said, the group of teens ransacked and robbed the man’s premises. He died as a result of asphyxiation. Police had said that Mars, 75, also known as ‘Perry,’ was found in his Prashad Nagar home with his hands and feet duct taped and injuries to his head. His house was ransacked and a number of articles and cash were stolen. Mars, who was discovered by his wife on her return home from Linden, was rushed to St Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he died while receiving medical attention. Among the items recovered by the police were a sum of cash, a laptop computer, an iPhone and a video game console, the police had said in a statement.
