Man jailed for 55 ½ years for wood cutter’s murder

Sep 26, 2014 News

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Thirty-five year-old murder accused Naresh Ramjohn called ‘Naresh Mahase’ and ‘Saddam’ was yesterday sentenced

to 55 ½ years in jail by Justice Navindra Singh; when he reappeared before him in the Berbice High Court for sentencing. This was following the submission of a probation report.
Ramjohn, of Stanleytown and Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice, was on trial before Justice Singh and a mixed jury for the July 2008 murder of 28-year-old Anthony Samaroo called ‘Scare Them’ of Levi Dam, Angoy’s Avenue. Ramjohn was earlier found guilty of the capital offence. However, a probation report was requested by defence attorney Mursalene Bacchus. The jury had returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder.
In presenting the report, Senior Probation Officer Claudia Munroe stated that the accused was the second of six children. He hadn’t much education having dropped out of school in third form. It was stated that the man lived between New Amsterdam and Kwakwani, Berbice River. He later became a wood cutter in the same Berbice River area.
The court heard that both Ramjohn and Samaroo were once involved in illegal activities and had been associates. They eventually had a disagreement which led to the altercation. The accused mentioned that he and his siblings were regularly robbed by Samaroo and members of the ‘Scare Them’ gang.
The judge expressed some amount of disappointment in the report.
At the completion of the report, defence attorney Bacchus in a plea of mitigation, asked the court to temper justice with mercy. He stated that his client is 40 years and was never convicted before.
State prosecutor Attorney at law Renita Singh did not make a submission before sentencing.
Justice Singh, before passing sentence, asked the accused if he had anything to say. Ramjohn in his plea asked the Judge to be lenient with him, maintaining that he was innocent of the crime.
The judge before handing down the sentence told the accused that he was disappointed that he showed no remorse.  He told the accused that the Jury had spoken. He mentioned that he had wished more facts could have emerged from the case.
“While there might be aggrieving factors and the victim might have contributed in the incident, the crime was a brutal one.”
Justice Singh stated that he would start at 60 years and would minus the four and a half years that the accused had already spent in jail, thus leaving him with fifty-five and a half years.
Both the defence, which was led by attorney at law Bacchus in association with Perry Gossai and the prosecution which was conducted by attorney at law Renita Singh, had made their submissions before Justice Singh and the mixed jury.
The defence had concentrated their submission on the inconsistencies of the prosecution’s star witnesses and questioned the credibility of their stories.
Prosecutor Renita Singh had reminded the jury that two of the dead man’s brothers gave evidence that they witnessed the death of their sibling. She said that from the evidence of the brothers they and the accused were known to each other, they lived in close proximity, and would see each other constantly.
She summed up that it was the deceased man’s brother Ryan who stated that he was in the lock-ups together with the accused in 2010 when he (Ramjohn) told police that he was the person who killed his brother two years ago.
The Prosecution had called some eight witnesses.
Pathologist Dr. Vivikananda Brijmohan who performed the post mortem examination on Anthony Samaroo at the New Amsterdam hospital had revealed that he died from shock and haemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds.
Also called during the trial were the dead man’s mother Meena Persaud, his father Tony Samaroo, Detective Corporal Lawrence Thomas, Detective Lance Corporal Denesh Baichu and Corporal Brandt.
In her opening address, Prosecutor Singh had detailed that on the day in question Ryan Samaroo was walking on Levi Dam, when he was confronted by Ramjohn. Samaroo did not respond but continued walking and noticed his brother Tejpaul. After speaking for a few minutes they looked up the street and saw Ramjohn and his two brothers ‘Joe Boy’ and ‘Baboolall had implements in their hands.
The Samaroo brothers went home and told another brother Anthony Samaroo what had transpired.
The brothers left and went back to Levi Dam, where they were attacked and Ryan and Tejpaul Samaroo were able to escape. Ryan was standing some distance away and saw when Ramjohn stabbed his brother. Ramjohn then instructed his brothers ‘to ‘done he, done he.’
The other two Samaroo siblings then ran home and told their mother what had happened. They returned immediately together to Levi Dam, where they saw Anthony Samaroo lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
Whilst leaving court, Ramjohn was heard saying “this man want I dead in jail or wha” before being escorted back to prison.

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