The three men who shot and killed Prashad Nagar electrical engineer Saleem Azeez Abdool back in 2014, were each sentenced to 11 and a ½ years in prison after pleading to manslaughter charges before Justice Navindra Singh yesterday afternoon.
In teary-eyed apologetic pleas to Abdool’s family for forgiveness, Glenroy Griffith, Gerald Warde and Julian Mack each said that their actions on that fateful day were foolish and not only are they now embarrassed by it but more particularly the devastation they have caused the young man’s family.
The jointly-charged trio had originally been indicted for the capital offence, but opted to plead instead to the lesser offence.
When the charge was read to them during their virtual appearance from the Lusignan Prison, they accepted that on October 19th, 2014 they unlawfully killed Abdool during a robbery.
Griffith, 27; Ward, 36, and Mack 41, each began their individual address by extending condolences to Abdool’s family who were present in court. Their chorus had been that their actions were foolish for which they said they take full responsibility.
They each begged both the judge and the family of the deceased for forgiveness and mercy.
Griffith said that he knows that sorry would by no means be adequate for the loss he has caused Abdool’s loved ones to suffer but he said he wants them to nonetheless know that he is truly sorry.
Describing himself as now possessing a different outlook on life and mindset because of what he had done, Ward said that he does not expect the family to get over their loss easily but begged them to “please find it in your hearts to forgive me.”
Meanwhile, Mack said he never thought he would ever be involved in such an act, but said that he has learnt from the experience of who he no longer wants to be and the life he no longer wants to live.
Abdool’s father in a stirring victim impact statement to the court, however, spoke of how loving and hardworking his only son was and how much not only he, but his mother and entire family miss him.
The older Abdool spoke of the prospects of marriage and raising a family which his son had, but how that chance had all been taken away from him by “monsters.”
The sobbing man recalled the phone call he received which he said he would never forget—one bearing the dreaded news for any parent that his son had died, but even more devastating that his life had been snuffed out with a gun by bandits.
Prosecutor Tyra Bakker had described the killing as a premeditated, senseless and cowardly act which saw 24-year-old Abdool’s life being cut short in his prime.
Asking the court to consider that a gun had been used, the nature and prevalence of such offences and the need for potential offenders to be deferred, Bakker asked the judge to impose sentences which would so reflect.
Relating the facts of the case, she said that on the day in question the three had made a plan to rob persons in the Prashad Nagar area when they spotted Abdool who had just returned home and was opening his gate.
She said that they pounced on him and a scuffle ensued as the young man attempted to flee to safety. It was during this time she said that he was shot multiple times about the body, succumbing later from gunshot injuries to his head.
In imposing sentence, Justice Singh explained the number of years arrived at.
He said that in accordance with case law, a manslaughter conviction would usually attract a sentence of 20 years.
Where someone throws themselves at the mercy of the court as the three had done, however, he said that that would result in a one-third mandatory deduction and the further mandatory deduction for time spent on remand awaiting trial.
The judge said that deductions were then made for the mitigating factors advanced by counsel for each offender regarding their remorse and acceptance of responsibility for the crime. He said he considered also that they did not waste the court’s time and based on their attorneys’ submissions, they plan to make valuable contributions to society after their release.
Justice Singh then said that having considered all factors—both aggravating and mitigating, each offender would be imprisoned to 11 and a ½ years behind bars, while ordering that prison authorities make deductions for time they would have spent on remand.
Griffith, Warde and Mack were respectively represented by attorneys Ronald Daniels, Keoma Griffith and Adrian Thompson.
Abdool, formerly of Lot 33 Delph Street and also of Columbia, Essequibo, died following an attack at 4:30 on the morning of October 19th, 2014.
Police subsequently reviewed video footage from a property in the area, which led to the arrest of the three.
An uncle who had viewed the footage had related to Stabroek News that Abdool, who was initially held at gun-point in front of his residence, ran towards a bus parked nearby, only to be shot in the shoulder.
He had added that his nephew’s hand slammed onto the parked vehicle, where he hid, until his assailants rode up to the vehicle, spotted him and fired several shots at him. The man said Abdool ran a few steps away but collapsed.
