PATRICK Felix Smith was, on Tuesday, sentenced to 16 years in prison for killing a butcher during an early morning attempted robbery back in February 2020.

The sentence was handed down by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall of the Demerara High Court.

During his arraignment before the Judge in January, the 28-year-old man pleaded guilty to the capital offence of murder. The indictment he faced was that he murdered Otredis Duarte Campos, 35, a father of two on February 20, 2020.

Smith expressed his regret to the family of the deceased during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, saying, “I never meant to take their loved one’s life.”

Teriq Mohammed, Smith’s defence attorney, pleaded with the presiding Judge to temper justice with mercy.

State Prosecutor, Rbina Christmas, asked the Judge to consider the serious nature and prevalence of homicides, describing Smith’s action as an “unprovoked, premediated and senseless” killing.

According to her, Campos posed no danger to Smith and his accomplice. She said that, since Campos is no longer with us, his two children have been “robbed” of their father’s affection.

A deterrent to potential criminals should be the primary goal of sentence, she argued, considering the high rate of unprovoked homicides. Smith did not fire the shot; rather, it was his accomplice.

Smith was the getaway rider. Ultimately, the Judge determined that the crime warranted a 16-year prison sentence. She instructed the Prison Service to subtract from the 16-year sentence the period of time the offender had been detained pending trial.

Campos of 321 East Street, Georgetown was killed during an early morning attempted robbery while he was walking to his workplace– the Rosignol Butchery– located on Church Street, Georgetown. The Police had identified his killers as “known characters”.

Campos was walking along Cummings Street, between Middle and Quamina Streets, when two men on a motorcycle rode up beside him and attempted to snatch his haversack.

It was said that Campos put up a fight with the two men as he refused to let them take his belongings and, as a result, was shot three times before the bandits escaped on the motorcycle.

He sustained gunshot wounds to his right wrist, upper chest and under the chin. The bandits were unsuccessful in the robbery as all of the Cuban’s valuables were found in his possession.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.