Imposing heavy sentences on two men convicted of fatally shooting a teenager after mistaking him for someone else, a High Court judge has urged people to report gang activity or risk losing more innocent lives.
Justice Carlisle Greaves said: “Cases like these illustrate why every citizen in this country must take this firearm violence and gang behaviour seriously. We cannot escape by residing in a philosophy that it is them and not us, or that it is the gangsters or criminals killing one another, or [that] it is not us, so we turn dumb and don’t speak up when we are supposed to.
“We don’t report what we are supposed to, and we don’t give statements to the police and stick to them, and we don’t give evidence in court. Silence, arrogance, recalcitrance, ‘don’t carishness’, by us, the ordinary citizens of this country, only emboldens and enables the gangsters and illegal firearm carriers in this country to do what they do, and as this case demonstrates, it may be only a matter of time before it leads to innocent you.”
He was speaking from the bench of the No. 3 Supreme Court moments before ordering Livardo Roghileo Hinds of Durants Lodge Road, Christ Church, to serve life imprisonment with a tariff of 45 years for the murder of Michael Omar Edwards on February 2, 2017, and Kemar Glenville Stoute of Bottom Close, Wildey, St Michael, to 25 years for manslaughter. The two were convicted by a jury earlier this year for the 18-year-old’s death.
After consideration of the time they had already spent on remand and the delay, Hinds was informed that he would spend 37 years behind bars at Dodds Prison before he could be considered for release, while Stoute was left with 20 years.
Calling the case “serious”, Justice Greaves said it emerged from the development of gang culture in this country and “led to the unfortunate killing of the victim in this case, who the evidence suggests was not a gang member or gang associate but an innocent citizen taking a relaxing moment at his own compound when he was unfortunately gunned down through mistaken identity.”
“The evidence suggests the intention was to kill or seriously injure by firearm another person who was associated with a rival gang. I have had several cases in which innocent persons were gunned down either because they are related to or associated with some gang member or gang associate or because they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught in the gunfire.”
The outspoken justice urged Barbadians to speak up about those engaging in illegal activities, even relatives, to ensure that more innocent lives were not lost to the ongoing gun violence impacting the island.
“The attitudes of citizens of this country must be one of ‘It could have been me’, ‘it could have been mine’ and if you understand that you would know what is necessary for you to do. If you have gang members and gun leaders dwelling around you, put them away from your premises, report them if you see them doing nonsense, report it to the appropriate authorities before it’s too late. This should be the case whether the culprit is your brother, your sister, your son, your father, your friend or your friend’s friend. You may be saving your own life or your own son’s or friend’s life.”
Giving a brief overview of the facts, acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney, who prosecuted the case with Acting Senior State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce, said that the two men, armed with firearms, went to Sergeants Village, Christ Church, with shirts over their faces and fired several shots in the deceased’s direction as he was standing in the doorway of a shop attached to his home.
She stated that in their interviews with police, they admitted involvement, with Hinds saying that the plan initially was to shoot at another man, but that he shot at the deceased as he had been seen with that man earlier in the day.
However, it was found that Edwards was not the person who had been with the initial target. The prosecutor said that Stoute said he fired at the deceased with a gun that was given to him on the way to the area and denied knowledge of a plan to kill and told police that his intention had been to “stick him up like how the police does do”.
Aggravating factors for both men included the use of firearms, both being armed in advance, the number of shots fired as eight cartridges were recovered, the deceased being shot four times and the impact on his family.
Giving a starting sentence of life imprisonment with a term of 40 years for Hinds, Justice Greaves raised it by five years due to his previous convictions, including disposal of a body, and illegal firearm and ammunition offences, noting that his pre-sentence report deemed him to be at high risk of reoffending.
“This case is a gang case. A tit for tat gang killing and although when it was committed at the time we did not have gang legislation in place – but we are well on the way for that now, we can see from that how serious Parliament and this country is taking this serious problem.”
The judicial officer continued: “I have said when persons use firearms to commit murders in this jurisdiction and there is a risk of reoffending, the courts have a duty to impose a sentence that not only deters them and others like them but to protect society for a long time. The state maintains and should maintain an interest for life in keeping them under supervision.”
Addressing the court before the sentence was passed, both men maintained their innocence, with Hinds saying: “I have been found guilty of a crime I did not commit”, while Stoute said: “I would like to give condolences to Mr Edwards family. I maintain my innocence.”
Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens represented Stoute, while defence attorneys Safiya Moore and Michael Rivera represented Hinds.
(JB)
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