SELF-CONFESSED killer Joshua Meredith, was, on Wednesday, sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for fatally shooting Gregory Garraway during a robbery in 2016.
The sentence was handed down by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown High Court. On December 4, Meredith was arraigned on the indictment of murder but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, which alleged that at the Wings and Things Bar on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, he unlawfully killed Garraway. When the case was called on Wednesday, a probation report was read in court before the judge handed down the sentence.
According to the report, Meredith is the product of a single parent home and was also a school dropout.

At the tender age of 15, Meredith dropped out of school and became involved in criminal activities, which led him to his first court appearance for robbery under arms. He was placed on a two-year bond for that offence since he was a juvenile at the time. The report further detailed that persons from his community described him as a “notorious criminal.” Additionally, prison officials described Meredith as disrespectful and disorderly, which caused him to be placed in solitary confinement and eventually causing his transfer to the Mazaruni Prison. In his plea of mitigation, attorney Adrian Thompson had asked the court to consider that Meredith did not have a good childhood, and was influenced by the neighbourhood in which he lived. State prosecutor, Nafeeza Baig, asked the court to consider that at a tender age Garraway’s life was snuffed out by Meredith.

In the end, the judge sentenced Meredith to serve 15 years in prison. She urged him to use the time behind bars to learn a trade or further his studies so that upon his release he can be a productive member of society. According to the case facts, on the night of October 2, 2016, at about 01:45hrs, Garraway was at ‘Wings and Things’, and was at the time wearing two gold chains which Meredith sought to relieve him of. During the scuffle that ensued, Meredith reportedly pulled out a firearm and shot Garraway, who fell to the ground. Meredith made good his escape with the jewellery. Garraway was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital and later admitted. However, he died nine days later. According to the post mortem, he died of “septic shock as a result of gunshot injuries to the abdomen”. Meredith was later arrested after being pointed out during an identification parade by Garraway’s brother who had witnessed the robbery.