Three St Andrew men who lured a Coast Guard officer to Jack-in-the-Box Gully before stabbing and kidnapping him and leaving him in a burning vehicle were given varying sentences in the High Court on Wednesday.
Shaulon Rashidi Collymore of Lakes Village reappeared before Justice Elwood Watts and received a starting sentence of 42 years for murdering David Thompson between August 23 and 26, 2020. After deductions, he is left having to serve 24 more years behind bars.
His co-conspirators, Andre Ricardo Watson, also of Lakes Village, and Shaquille Jesse Romeo Goodridge, of Belleplaine Housing Area, were each given starting sentences of 35 years for the slaying. They are left with prison terms of 18-and-a-half years and 30 years, respectively.
After the trial began in February, Collymore and Goodridge threw in the towel and admitted to non-capital murder, while Watson went to trial and was found guilty by a jury.
During the sentencing hearing, Justice Watts identified the use of a weapon, the degree of planning, the victim’s suffering, the “exceptional brutality” of the burning of the body, the attempt to conceal the crime, and the post-offence conduct as aggravating in relation to all three men.
He also attributed Thompson’s stab wounds to all three, as none of the convicted murderers admitted to being responsible.
Determining that Collymore was the ringleader and the principal actor in the killing, Justice Watts said he must be treated differently.
“The court sees you as the ringleader. The one without whom David Thompson would still be alive. It was you who put the plan in place. All of the others say you contacted them. It was you that planned the place. It was you that said that your car was defective and you that lured him to Jack-in-the-Box Gully,” he told Collymore.
However, his guilty plea, favourable pre-sentence report deeming him at a low risk of re-offending, lack of a criminal record, cooperation with police and expression of remorse were deemed mitigating factors.
The judge noted that while on bail, Collymore had been able to find employment and appeared to have been making a good contribution to society.
Through his attorney Shadia Simpson, the convicted murderer also offered to provide financial assistance to Thompson’s child with funds he had saved while working. When asked by Justice Watts if there was any interest in such, Thompson’s mother, who was present in the courtroom, along with several other family members, rejected the offer.
Four years were deducted from the starting point due to the mitigating features, a one-quarter discount was taken for Collymore’s plea and he was credited for his remand time and delay, leaving him to spend almost two-and-a-half more decades at Dodds Prison.
Giving similar mitigating factors for Goodridge, Justice Watts deducted three years from the 35-year starting sentence, before making the relevant deductions, informing the convict that he will be incarcerated for another 18-and-a-half years.
Watson, who was the only one who headed to trial, received no guilty plea discount.
Pointing out that he had been deemed at a medium risk of re-offending, the judge deducted only two years for his mitigating factors.
After his 791 days spent on remand and the delay were factored into account, his term of imprisonment is just over 30 years.
Goodridge was represented by defence counsel Marlon Gordon, while Watson was represented by attorney Kendrid Sergeant.
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