Farmer Richard Martin has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for the September 2020 killing of Bourda Market labourer Ovid Chester, who was stabbed after he reportedly conned Martin out of a construction net that he promised to sell.
The sentence was imposed on Wednesday by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who commenced at a base of 20 years. Following deductions, she announced the sentence to be 13 years, less time served for the period he spent on remand awaiting trial.
In handing down the sentence the judge noted that she had taken into consideration, among other things, the gravity of the offence, its premeditated nature and the caution statement Martin had given to investigators.
Justice Morris-Ramlall noted also that the victim was unarmed at the time he was attacked by the offender.
She was also keen in pointing out that while Martin did throw himself at the mercy of the court and accepted responsibility for his actions, he did not do this at the commencement of his trial.
Against this background, the judge lamented the judicial time invested in conducting a voir dire before the offender fessed up to what he had done; and as result made it clear that he could not benefit from the full ⅓ deduction from his sentence, which the law allows for guilty pleas.
After considering all the circumstances — both aggravating and mitigating – Justice Morris-Ramlall imposed the sentence with the further order that the offender continue his anger management sessions throughout his incarceration.
Back in February, Martin had been on trial for murder when he indicated through his attorney that he wished to confess to what he had done.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, accepting when the charge was re-read to him that he had in fact unlawfully killed Chester on September 2nd, 2020 at an alley off Bourda Street near North Road.
Background
Regional Commander of Region Four ‘A’, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean had told this newspaper that investigations revealed that the day before the killing, Martin, 51, of Block 22, Wismar, Linden, had taken a construction net to Bourda Market to sell.
While there, he met Chester, who offered to sell the item for him and he agreed.
Martin, the police had said, waited for some time but did not see Chester return, so he eventually left the area.
At around 10 am the following day, McBean said, Martin returned to the market armed with a knife and went in search of Chester.
Chester was confronted in an alley off Bourda Street near North Road. Martin questioned Chester about the money from the sale of the net. This led to a heated argument during which Martin pulled out the knife and stabbed Chester in the chest. The wounded man ran from the alley and collapsed on Bourda Street.
Vendors had told Stabroek News that they only realised Chester was stabbed after checking him when he collapsed. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
