Former miner, Lexroy Garraway, called ‘Bam Bam,’ was yesterday morning sentenced to 20 for the 2019 killing of his drinking buddy, Eric Nurse whom he stabbed about the body during a scuffle.
Following a number of deductions, however, the 37-year-old will spend only about 11 years behind bars.
Garraway had been indicted with the capital offence of murder.
At his arraignment last month, however, he threw himself at the mercy of the Court, pleading to the lesser offence of manslaughter; admitting that he had unlawfully killed Nurse on the night of May 23rd, 2019 at Takutu Landing, Mazaruni River.
Garraway in his brief address to the court said that he was sorry for the life he had taken, and begged Justice Jo-Ann Barlow to be merciful towards him.
Probation and Social Services Officer David Schultz said that in their interview, not only did Garraway express regret for his actions, but also for not walking away, though he said he was only defending himself.
The facts presented by Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken were that Garraway was speaking to a young woman when Nurse advanced towards him with a knife, tearing his jersey during a scuffle that subsequently ensured.
She said that Nurse was stabbed some 13 times, including in his back and chest.
In arriving at the base-sentence of 18 years, Jus-tice Barlow said she took account of both the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case.
With Garraway having been released from prison on a wounding charge only a short time before killing Nurse, however, the judge said that the base-sentence warranted an upward adjustment by two years.
To that 20 years, however, she then made a one-third deduction for the offender’s early plea, which left a total of 14 years; from which the she ordered that the prison subtract the two years, 10 months the offender would have spent on remand.
Following all the deductions, Garraway would be left with just about 11 years to serve.
The judge noted in her sentencing as mitigating factors, the fact that it was Nurse who was the aggressor and who had been armed with the knife by which he would later be killed.
Among the aggravating factors which she, however, said far outweighed the mitigating ones, the judge noted the almost 15 stabs Nurse sustained about his body, including to his back and chest cavity.
She also underscored his previous conviction for a violent offence and the prison report which presented him as troublesome.
Against this background the judge urged the offender to endeavour to change his behaviour and to make full use of every rehabilitative programme offered by the penal institution.
His attorney Latchmi Dindayal, had asked the judge to consider his client’s youth and the fact that he can still contribute meaningfully to society, while stating that he was already participating in anger-management sessions.
The lawyer had also advanced that his client was remorseful and had always cooperated with police
This newspaper had previously reported that Nurse, a resident of Dia-mond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara was stabbed multiple times in his back during an argument with Garraway.
He died on the spot.
The incident reportedly unfolded around 1:30 on the morning in question, in a shop at Takutu Landing.
The police had said that investigations had revealed that Garraway and Nurse were imbibing together at the shop.
Later, a 23-year-old cook, who is employed with the owner, alleged that she retired to her sleeping quarters where she noticed the suspect had hidden himself.
Upon spotting him, she told the police that an argument ensued during which Nurse intervened.
Nurse reportedly held on to Garraway’s shirt and pulled him out of the sleeping quarters which resulted in an argument between them.
Several minutes after, the cook recalled hearing a commotion outside the shop.
Upon checking, she noticed Nurse’s lifeless body lying on the ground.
