Businessman to serve 4 years in jail for fatally shooting teen

…as time served deducted from sentence

Businessman Junior France will have to serve four more years in prison for killing a teen miner. Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder, France, 44, of Tabatinga, Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), was convicted on the lesser count of manslaughter.

Following a trial before Essequibo High Court Judge Jo Ann Barlow, the jury found him unanimously guilty of unlawfully killing 17-year-old Dane Jerrick, a miner of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), on May 17, 2020. During a sentencing hearing last Friday, France was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Since he had been on remand since May 2020 and was credited for time served, roughly two years will be deducted from his sentence. The businessman has also compensated the dead teen’s family; however, the sum of money paid is not known.
France was represented by Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels, while State Counsel Tiffini Lyken had appeared on behalf of the prosecution.
It was reported that at about 03:30h on the day in question, at Puruni Landing, Mazaruni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Jerrick was shot in the lower back by the businessman.
The teen’s uncle had told Guyana Times that family members were told that his nephew and a driver had an argument which had quickly escalated into a scuffle, during which Jerrick had attempted to escape the blows, but someone in the crowd had identified him as a thief.
The businessman, who was in close proximity to the scene, had reportedly drawn his weapon and shot Jerrick. It was reported that after the shooting, an angry mob had stormed the businessman’s shop and carted off a quantity of goods. The mob had even attempted to burn the building down, but only managed to scorch a section of the shop.