The man responsible for the 2020 killing of court tout Darrell Breedy during a home invasion, has been sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after serving no less than 20 years.
Terrence Pitt, 30, was handed the sentence yesterday morning by High Court Judge Jo-Ann Barlow.
Pitt called ‘Shots’ and ‘Sonna Boy,’ had originally been indicted for murder, but at his arraignment, pleaded to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
He admitted that on October 5th, 2019, at Humming Bird Street, Festival City, he murdered Breedy during the course of a robbery at the man’s home.
Justice Barlow had initially commenced the parole eligibility period at 30 years; but after making a one-third deduction for the offender’s early guilty plea, the total was brought to 20 years.
Further, from this amount, the Judge ordered that the prison grant him remission for the time he would have spent on remand awaiting trial.
In her impact statement, Darnisha Breedy said that her father was her “everything” and that with his death, she lost a “huge part of her life;” while adding that she was never afforded the opportunity to experience a father/daughter relationship.
She told the court that his encouragement to her was always to be great and she intends to honour him by so striving.
Prosecutor Praneta Seeraj in her address lamented what she described the “senseless loss of life,” while underscoring the prevalence of robbery.
She said that on that fateful night, the offender and his accomplices staked out the community, looking for random houses to rob.
For his part, Pitt in an apologetic address told the court that he was “sincerely sorry” for his actions which he regrets, even as he begged the surviving relatives of the man he killed, for their forgiveness.
In a mitigating plea, his attorney Kiswana Jefford, asked for clemency submitting for the Court’s consideration her client’s cooperation with investigators and his expression of remorse.
She underscored what she said was a troubled upbringing for Pitt; but the Judge was keen to point out that that could not be used to justify the offender’s conduct.
In addition to the sentence, Justice Barlow went on to order that the offender be provided behaviour and skills training sessions tailored to his rehabilitative needs.
The Judge also ordered the prosecution to aid the process of the relatives of the deceased being facilitated with counselling to cope with the trauma of their loss.
Background
Investigators had always said that Pitt had confessed to the killing.
Stabroek News had previously reported that Breedy, 53, who worked as a tout outside the Georgetown Magistrate’s Courts, was shot once in his abdomen.
The attack occurred around 3.30 am at his Lot 2037 Hummingbird Street, Festival City, North Ruimveldt residence. Then Crime Chief (ag) Michael Kingston, had told this newspaper that initial investigations revealed that two bandits broke into Breedy’s home.
“He [Breedy] woke up, there was massive resistance and he was shot,” Kingston had said.
The bandits, managed to escape with a television and $11,000 in cash. They gained entry into Breedy’s house through a window situated on the eastern side of the house.
Breedy was discovered lying face down in the kitchen in a pool of blood. He was shot once.
He was discovered by his daughter, who resided with him in the bottom flat of the two-storey building, which he also shared with his wife.
Breedy’s son, Keron King, had said that he heard the gunshot but didn’t realise it came from his home. “After I hear the gunshot, me sister run up the step and seh ‘Daddy just get shoot, call the ambulance,’” King had said.
He related that when he rushed downstairs, he saw his father’s lifeless body in a pool of blood.
