ETON Calistro, 18, was on Monday sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by Demerara High Court Judge, Sandil Kissoon for fatally stabbing a CD vendor on July 18, 2015 at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara.

Calistro pleaded not guilty to the murder of 21-year-old Leroy Moore called ‘Jim Carrey,’ but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

State prosecutors, Abigail Gibbs and Mandell Moore appeared for the prosecution while Defence Attorneys, George Thomas and Sonia Parag represented the interest of Calistro.
According to the case facts presented by state counsel Gibbs, the labourer, who was just 15 years old at the time of his crime, went to a bar with his two brothers and while there, the deceased, Moore, “hustled” a female, which annoyed Calistro.

The court heard that the two had an exchange of words, after which, Calistro left with his siblings. Moore was with seven other males at the time.

She related that after the group left the bar and went to Soesdyke, the accused and the deceased met up and had a scuffle.

Moore was stabbed twice and succumbed while being transported to the hospital. A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from perforation to the heart and lungs due to stab wounds.

In his plea of mitigation, the defense attorney, George Thomas told the court that his client was defending himself as Calistro saw himself as a victim in the matter.
Thomas related that alcohol consumption was a factor in the incident while his client begged the court for mercy.

In response, Abigail Gibbs said even though the killing may have been unfortunate due to the ages involved; persons must face the consequences of their actions.

She contended that a period of incarceration could give the offender an opportunity to reflect on what he had done so that he would not repeat his crime.

After a brief adjournment, Justice Sandil Kissoon handed down the sentence, observing the impact that alcohol had on the events that led to the outcome.

He however, started at a base of 25 years for manslaughter and deducted one-third of the sentence for acceptance of guilt; three years for time spent on remand and three years, six months for his age and other mitigating factors.