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Plastic City resident gets 13 years for manslaughter
Plastic City resident, Michael Powley, was yesterday sentenced to 13 years in prison for the unlawful killing of his neighbour, Visnauth Narine called ‘Buddy.’
Visnauth Narine called ‘Buddy.’
Powley, 44, a coconut vendor of Lot 13 Plastic City, West Coast Demerara, (WCD) was initially charged with murder but was subsequently found guilty of manslaughter. He had stabbed his neighbour during an argument almost three years ago.
According to the indictment, the incident took place on June 8, 2012 at Plastic City, WCD.
Reports indicated that Narine lived next door to Powley at Plastic City. On the day of the incident, they were allegedly engaged in an altercation during which the victim sustained stab wounds in the region of his chest. The incident reportedly stemmed from a disagreement over a cooking gas cylinder.
Following the confrontation, Powley fled the scene, and Narine was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, (WDRH) where he died while receiving medical attention. Powley was subsequently arrested and charged with the offence.
On April, 10 last, a 12-member mixed jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict against Powley for manslaughter. His sentence was deferred following a request for a probation report.
Yesterday, the detailed report was read aloud to the court. The report outlined that Powley, a father of six, was known as a respectable man in his neighbourhood. He had no trouble with the law, prior to being charged for murder in 2012.
According to the report, Powley had shared a loving relationship with his reputed and her two children, prior to the incident. The deceased, on the other hand was described as a troublemaker and a known drug addict in the community, who even sustained a serious injury to his eye during a previous fight.
However, the document outlined that while the accused has maintained his innocence he wished to apologise to family of the deceased for their loss. In a plea of mitigation Attorney -at- law, Basil Williams told the court that his client had a clean criminal record prior to the incident and continues to maintain his good character while in prison.
Williams also pointed to the fact that his client spent more than three years in jail pending trial.
Taking all the factors into consideration, Justice James Bovell-Drakes sentenced Powley to 13 years in prison.
He had initially sentenced Powley to 16 years but deducted three years, for the time the accused spent in prison, awaiting trial. The matter was prosecuted by State Counsel, Natasha Backer and Narissa Leander.
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