QUINCY Henry, called “Fix it”, was on Monday morning served a 13-year sentence from Justice Brassington Reynolds, for an attempted murder charge to which he pleaded guilty.
State Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken, on presenting the indictment and facts of the matter before the court, stated that on September 20, 2015, in the county of Demerara, Henry allegedly attempted to murder Troy Hughes Bacchus called “Fletcher”. On the night in question, at the Merriman’s Mall, Bourda, Henry asked Fletcher for $100 which he refused to give. Henry then attacked Fletcher from behind and subsequently stabbed him in the neck.

Although Henry pleaded guilty to the charge, he asked the presiding judge for a chance to tell his side of the story, which turned out to be quite contrary to that which was presented by the State.

The unrepresented accused told the court, that on the night in question a man called out to him and told him that “Fletcher said he gan cuff you in yo mouth”, to which he replied “Fletcher can’t cuff me cause he already get shoot and ain’t even know he geh shoot.” The response, however, aggravated Fletcher to the point that he approached Henry with a hammer in a threatening manner.

Henry said he held the hammer to avoid it hitting him and showed Fletcher he was armed with a knife, and Fletcher, he said, let go of the hammer and walked away. Continuing his version of the incident, the accused said that Fletcher returned a few minutes later with a piece of wood, and “fired a lash aiming to my head,” but he used his left arm to block the `lash’ and instead, received a gash near his elbow. Henry then raised his arm and showed the court the wound, which he said he did not receive medical attention for because he was afraid to go to the hospital.

Henry continued that Fletcher fired a second lash but he grabbed the piece of wood and used his other arm to keep off Fletcher. He said that he still had the knife in his possession and it was due to Fletcher’s aggressiveness that he ended up getting stabbed to the neck.
And, as the accused was narrating his version of the incident, the victim, Fletcher, was observed sitting in the courtroom crying.

Prior to Monday’s hearing and sentencing, Justice Reynolds had requested a probation report be prepared for the accused. The report was read to the court by Probation Officer from Ministry of Social Protection, Anand Sharma.

The report stated that Henry, 32, is the sixth of his mother’s seven children, all of whom have different fathers. Henry’s father, however, never played a role in supporting him and at a very tender age, his mother migrated to Barbados and he was left in the care of his grandmother. All this time, he hadn’t any schooling, until he was 10 years old when he went to live with his mother in Barbados. Prior to his mother sending for him, Henry worked at Bourda Market to sustain himself and he would often sleep there.

While living in Barbados, he had disputes with his family and this lead to his sister reporting him to immigration and he was subsequently deported back to Guyana in 2009. Being neglected by his mother, Henry found solace in drugs [cocaine], had a few brushes with the law and once served a three-year sentence. Persons from the Bourda Market area who knew him, described his as a junkie, a bully and a nuisance who is often involved in incidents in the market.

His relatives in Guyana said they rarely see him and had no idea of what was going on. He is known, however, as a “hardcore drug user”.

Justice Reynolds classified Henry as a victim of circumstances and is a waste of a good human being. Referring to Henry’s narration of the incident, Justice Reynolds stated that his vocabulary is extensive and his grammar is impressive, and it is rather unfortunate that he did not turn out to be a valuable addition to the society.

The judge, however, said that Henry needs a structured environment where he has no access to drugs, and starting at a 20-year sentence he made a seven-year deduction, and handed down the 13-year sentence. He advised the prisoner to use his time in prison to his benefit and better himself, and suggested that he seek counselling while incarcerated so that when he returns to society he can be of valuable contribution.