Convicted murderer Lakeraj Fredericks was on Monday handed an additional prison term of 22 years, for killing another individual just a few days after he had murdered his own relative.
Convicted murderer: Lakeraj Fredericks
In May last year, Fredericks was sentenced to a total of 65 years by Justice Navindra Singh for brutally executing his brother-in-law Clifton Bonus on June 3, 2011.
The 38-year-old farmer and father of two of La Grange, West Bank Demerara (WBD) on Monday admitted to unlawfully killing Vernon Romaldo, who was stabbed twice to the chest at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara.
Attorney-at-law Maxwell McKay appeared for Fredericks. Counsels Lisa Cave and Mandell Moore appeared for the State. Fredericks agreed with the Prosecution’s facts that during a late-night drinking spree on June 10, 2011, he committed the act, which caused Romaldo to die the following day.
The court heard that Fredericks, Romaldo’s brother and Romaldo were imbibing at the home of the sister of the deceased. During the night, an argument ensued, and the woman admonished them to stop arguing.
After retiring to bed, she was awoken by her brother’s groaning, and she saw him lying in a chair. She did not see the accused, but noticed the back door open. The Police were contacted, and her brother died on arrival at the hospital.
In pleading to the lesser count of manslaughter, Fredericks told the court that he and the two brothers were drinking rum that he had bought. He turned and apologised to Romaldo’s many relatives at court, telling them that he was not in his right frame of mind.
The murder convict begged for mercy, citing several scripture verses and noting that “a man who confesses his sins shall gain forgiveness”, but Justice Kissoon found that the actions of Fredericks were premeditated given that both the killings of Romaldo and Bonus had stemmed from disputes over the farmer’s marijuana cultivation.
The judge said that while the matters were separately indicted, Fredericks’s actions could not be viewed as isolated incidents.
Justice Kissoon started the sentence at a base of 30 years, and subtracted a total of 14 years for his guilty plea, acceptance of his crime, time spent on remand, and for him “bearing his soul to the mercy of God”. Justice Kissoon, however, added six years for aggravating factors that stemmed from the offender’s premeditation.
Speaking to Guyana Times moments after being sentenced, the convict said he had expected leniency, but conceded that the prison term was not harsh. The now baptized man added that he would continue to turn his life around, even claiming that he would stop using marijuana.
“Being behind bars, I will be going to church. I glad that God find me in prison, and I will live my life good in prison, because I already lived seven years there and I don’t get no problem,” the offender highlighted.
His past actions, however, caused Romaldo to die from perforation of the kidney and stomach via 2 stab wounds. Just days prior to this incident, he had shot his brother-in- law Clifton Bonus twice to the head with .32 calibre pistol at a marijuana field at Old England Backdam in Linden.
Fredericks was jointly charged with a then 16-year-old accomplice who had allegedly helped him to bury Bonus’s body, but the teenager was released after a no-case submission was upheld in the Magistrates’ Courts. (Shemuel Fanfair)
