JUSTICE Navindra Singh yesterday sentenced Naresh Ramjohn, called ‘Sadam’, to 55 ½ years’ imprisonment for the unlawful killing of ‘Scare Dem’ gang member Anthony Samaroo.

The crime was committed in 2008. However, the prisoner became a fugitive and was captured in May 2010 for another matter.

It was while he was in the lockups at Central Police Station in New Amsterdam that Ryan Samaroo, the sibling of the deceased, who incidentally was also in police custody, informed the cops of Ramjohn’s involvement in his brother’s demise.

State Counsel Renita Singh had led the evidence of eight witnesses, who testified that on July 2, 2008, Ryan Samaroo was at Overton Dam, Mount Sinai, a squatting area commonly referred to as Angoy’s Avenue, on the eastern fringe of the New Amsterdam township.
The witness had seen the accused and another person, both of whom were throwing bottles as they were exiting a yard, while villagers and neighbours looked on.
Ryan Samaroo said he saw the accused grab his brother by the back and started to beat him. At that time, the witness’s sibling was at one Joe Benn’s Bridge, where his foot was stuck between the wooden overpass.
According to the witness, he attempted to draw closer to his sibling but he was assaulted by one Joe and the accused, forcing him to flee.
He ran to his home, a short distance away where he returned with his mother. Together they saw Anthony Samaroo lying on the ground bleeding profusely.
Consequently, he was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where, despite hours of medical intervention, he succumbed.
Another witness, Anthony Samaroo, had related that he had seen the accused armed with a spear on the day of the incident.
Government Pathologist Vivikanand Brijmohan revealed that the cause of death was due to stab wounds, shock and haemorrhage, which resulted in the collapse of the lungs.
No weapon was tendered into evidence.
Meanwhile, the judge passed sentence after hearing a probation report on the convict, a mitigation plea and a brief narration by the prisoner.
Probation and Welfare Officer Claudia Munroe reported that Ramjohn claimed that the deceased and his siblings were members of a gang called ‘Scare Dem’.
Her report said, that the prisoner alleged that on occasions when he and his siblings returned from logging in the Berbice River, this gang would rob them. The deceased and the prisoner lived just a street away.
Munroe said the father of the deceased claimed that his son was very tidy and a great source of help at home. Nevertheless, he confessed that the second of his six children smoked marijuana, and was a bit wayward, but he never molested anyone.
The report also said that Ramjohn was born to Patrick Bhola and Shimoon Ramjohn, aged 65 and 62 years, respectively; he grew up in New Amsterdam, Berbice, where he attended Scotts Primary and Vryman’s Erven Secondary Schools until Form Two.
Subsequently, Ramjohn enrolled at Kwakwani Secondary school after his family migrated to the Berbice River community. However, he ceased his studies and opted to be a labourer.
At age 24 years, he and other family members relocated to Smythfield in New Amsterdam, and subsequently bought a dwelling place at Levi Dam where he lived until the commission of the offence.

However, the house in which the family once lived is no longer on the plot of land which is now covered with overgrown weeds.
Ramjohn, along with his siblings worked as wood cutters in the Berbice River, from where they would transport lumber to New Amsterdam, where it would be sold.
The prisoner does not have a family but has fathered a child who lives in Kwakwani.
Meanwhile, reports emanating from the community contradict that related by the family, and indicated that the accused was involved in drugs and theft.
Ramjohn and the deceased were associates in such activities and subsequently suffered disagreements which resulted in the committal of the offence.
It was noted that after the offence, the siblings of the accused left the community, allegedly never to be seen or heard again.
Pleading for Ramjohn in mitigation, Defence Counsel Mursulene Bacchus said his client is forty years old, and there has been no previous conviction although he was previously charged.
While he has been in custody since May 10, 2010, the attorney conceded that a life had been lost and pleaded that the sentence be tempered with mercy.
In his brief narrative, Ramjohn said, “Sir, I am innocent of this crime. Please have sympathy on me,” he rambled, before his lawyer indicated to him to be quiet.
The judge told him: “I am disappointed that you showed no remorse. The jury has spoken. You have maintained your innocence. Guess this will go to a higher court. Nevertheless, I find that it was a brutal attack. I do find from the evidence that there may be some contribution of the deceased, whatever aggravating factors they were… My sentence is 60 years. I have taken off four and a half years for the time you have spent in prison. My sentence therefore is fifty-five and a half years.”

(By Jeune Bailey Vankeric)