Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A High Court Judge has ordered the conditional release of a 29-year-old man of La Horquetta, Arima, who admitted to commiting a shooting when he was a teenager which claimed the life of a neighbour.
Keishon Browne was initially charged with murder, attempted murder, and shooting with intent but pleaded guilty to murder and shooting with intent after he obtained a maximum sentence indication from High Court Judge Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds. The attempted murder charge was discontinued by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Browne was released by Justice Ramsumair-Hinds as she performed his sentencing exercise yesterday afternoon.
Browne was charged with murdering Deon O’Brien on May 12, 2011.
O’Brien and a group of friends were playing cards under a street light at Phase Six, La Horquetta, Arima, when two gunmen emerged from a drain and began shooting at them.
The friends attempted to run away but O’Brien and his friend Leon Gumbs were shot.
O’Brien succumbed to his injuries but Gumbs survived.
One of their friends was able to identify Browne as one of their attackers by his build and the manner in which he walked as she knew him for several years.
When he was detained by police, Browne admitted to participating in the shooting.
He claimed that he shot at Gumbs, who was the target, while his accomplice focused on O’Brien.
In deciding on the appropriate sentence for Browne, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds noted that the mandatory death penalty for murder could not apply as he was a minor at the time of the shooting.
She began with a starting point of 25 years for murder and seven years for shooting with intent before reducing both sentences by one year and six months respectively due to the fact that he had a clean criminal record before participating in the shooting and his age.
After applying a one-third discount for his guilty pleas and deducting 11 years he spent on remand before pleading guilty, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds noted that he had already completed the lesser sentence and had over three years to serve on the murder charge before he was eligible for a sentence review.
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds conducted the sentence review immediately and ruled that he was eligible for release based on his conduct in prison and the rehabilitation programmes he participated in.
“The gentleman who is before us is not the 17-year-old that committed the crime,” she said.
As part of his sentence, Browne was ordered to be under the supervision of a probation officer for three years with progress reports being submitted every six months.
She warned him that if he committed a criminal offence while under supervision he would be forced to serve the remaining three years of his sentence.
“Hopefully, there would be no need for you to return,” she said, as she encouraged him to use the opportunity to become a contributing member of society.
The case was prosecuted by Stacey Laloo-Chong, while Deputy Chief Public Defender Raphael Morgan represented Browne.