2013 Mash Day murder: Accused takes manslaughter plea, to know fate next month

Devon Thomas, the 28-year-old man for whom a retrial had been ordered over the 2013 Republic Day murder of a businessman, on Monday pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. Thomas was brought before Justice Jo Ann Barlow at the High Court in Demerara.

He was initially indicted for the February 23, 2013 murder of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara (ECD) businessman Kumar Mohabir, but opted to plead to manslaughter. His sentencing has been deferred to November 11 to facilitate the presentation of a probation report.
He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Surihya Sabsook, while the case for the prosecution was led by State Counsel Sarah Martin. Reports are that Mohabir was with his family partaking in Mashramani celebrations at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, when he was attacked by a group of men.
The men, who were armed with bottles, stabbed Mohabir after he stepped on their feet. Both Thomas and 25-year-old Randy Isaacs were initially tried for the man’s murder in 2015. The jury, then, had found them guilty, and they were each sentenced to 75 years’ imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh.

They subsequently mounted an appeal against their conviction and sentence. Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal allowed their appeal, thereby setting aside their conviction and sentence. As such, their case was remitted to the High Court for a new trial.
Dozens of witnesses testified at that trial on behalf of the prosecution and defence including Police ranks who investigated the killing, relatives of the now dead man, and a pathologist who conducted a post-mortem examination on the remains of Mohabir. Further, they had both professed their innocence.
“I told them [Police ranks] I don’t know what you are talking about. I come in prison as a teenage boy. With all due respect, members of the jury, I know to my heart, God knows my heart, that I am innocent, I am really innocent,” Thomas had said in his unsworn statement.
Meanwhile, Isaacs in a similar statement, said, “They [the Police] told me that I was going to be placed on an ID parade. I told them that I don’t know anything about any murder. I am innocent of this charge. I did not bore anybody; I did not kill anybody. I would like to get my freedom to go and take care of my mother”.
In July, the jury found Isaacs not guilty. The jurors were unable to arrive at a verdict for Thomas, and in light of this, he was further remanded to prison pending a new trial. (G1)