SIX years after the fatal shooting of the owner of Regent Multiplex Mall, Ganesh ‘Boyo’ Ramlall, during a robbery at his La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara (WCD) home, his killer was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment on Thursday for the crime.

On Thursday, the accused, Lennox ‘Soldier Man’ Roberts, of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), made an appearance before trial judge, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Demerara High Court for a sentencing hearing.

The state was represented by special prosecutors, attorneys-at-law Konyo Sandiford and Narissa Leander, while the accused was represented by attorney-at-law, George Thomas.

Last month, Roberts was arraigned for the capital offence of murder but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

The 39-year-old admitted that on July 5, 2015, he unlawfully participated in the killing of Ramlall during the course of a robbery. He admitted to being one of the alleged masterminds and principal offenders behind the crime.

During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, a probation report was read in court by the relevant statutory officer who said the confessed killer told her that he is innocent of this charge and regrets that he did not report the incident to the police.

Further, the accused man told the probation officer that he took a plea deal because he is concerned about his children’s wellbeing.

Meanwhile, the deceased victim’s daughter, Sharmila Ramlall read her impact statement in court on how the criminal actions of the accused resulted in the dreaded loss of her “gem of a father”, and how that impacted her life.

“I would like to begin with a quote from ‘The Fault in our Stars’: ‘pain demands to be felt. You can’t outrun it; you can’t hide or bury it. The pain, it lingers; every happy moment, every memory, every sad moment, the pain of not having my father presses on my heart,” she said in her opening address.

The deceased man’s daughter said that one of her worst nightmares when she was growing up was the thought of losing her parents. On July 5, 2015, she continued, her father was “snatched” away from her due to the actions of the accused man, Roberts.

“My father was my everything. He was my best friend, my shoulder, my strength, my biggest supporter. From as long as I can remember myself, my father was holding my hand or fetching me through this life,” she told the court in an emotional state.

While detailing the ripple effects caused by the accused man, she added: “I cannot begin to explain the emotional trauma l experienced from losing my perfect person, my father. There isn’t a day that goes by that I do not miss him so much.

“He was my confidante, and now I can’t seem to find another to understand me that well. I am not ashamed to say I am struggling so incredibly much.”

According to the grieving daughter her father was “murdered cold-bloodedly and cruelly” and she is often tormented by the memory of him. She sometimes remembers him covered in blood on that fatal day, the court heard.

“If I am not tormented by my mind daily, I wake up in sweat and tears from nightmares. These feelings I have relived every day since the case of my father’s death commenced. Seeing the perpetrators well and unbothered haunts me,” she said.

Sharmila also told the court that the psychological trauma of the actions done by Roberts and his accomplices have severely impacted her life so much that she has lost her sense of security.

“I am constantly jittery in fear. I am restless when night has come and I am not in my home. I am [so] paranoid about my security that I have so many locks and security system in place. Fireworks terrify me.

“I stayed away from my family for years because home now terrifies me. I feel like I am imprisoned,” she told the court while fighting back tears.

The daughter told the court that she had always wanted to become a doctor specialising in cardiothoracic surgery; a dream her parents had always supported financially.  However, due to the actions of the accused men, that dream never materialised.

“After losing him, my mom tried very hard to hold the fort down so I could continue my studies. Studying away from home; knowing I had just lost my biggest supporter was a challenge to say the least. My grades weren’t as high as they usually were, but I tried very hard,” she added.

“However, it wasn’t long after my mom and I realised that the business needed more attention than we presumed so I was forced to discontinue my studies since it hardly spared me time. I was forced into so many compromises; sometimes looking back I can barely recognise my life.

“I had to help shoulder responsibilities of the business; something I didn’t think I would have to do until [a] few decades when I am fully prepared. I had to forsake my long, nurtured dreams,” she lamented.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the defence counsel, Thomas made his plea of mitigation in favour of his client. He also asked the court to consider that his client can be rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, State prosecutor, Leander asked the court to consider that the accused man was one of the masterminds behind the crime.

Leander told the court the “senseless killing” was planned some three weeks before it was executed by Roberts and others.

She also asked the court to send a strong message to deter the accused man and other like-minded potential offenders from contemplating similar crimes.

The judge, during her sentencing remarks, said that she considered the seriousness of the offence, the impact on the deceased’s family, among other factors.

In the end, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry sentenced Lennox ‘Soldier Man’ Roberts to 12 years’ imprisonment and ordered prison authorities to deduct the time he already spent on remand.

On March 10, one of Roberts’s co-accused, Kurt ‘Banana’ Erskine, was found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter by a jury. He was on trial before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall for the capital offence of murder and is expected to be sentenced on March 28.

Although the other co-accused in the matter, Fezeel Bacchus, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, he was released early because of the time already served. Bacchus had taken a plea to the lesser count of manslaughter. He had been on remand since 2015.

Bacchus had also testified on behalf of the state in Erskine’s trial.

According to reports on the night the incident occurred in 2015, the businessman had just returned home and proceeded to use the outside bathroom when he was confronted by four men who shot him about his body and relieved him of his licensed firearm, jewellery and wallet.

It was also reported that after Ramlall saw the gunmen approaching him, he raised an alarm and called out to his relatives to secure the house.

The bandits successfully escaped. Ramlall was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Days later, police arrested Bacchus who confessed to being the getaway driver.