Deportee sentenced to 13 years for 2007 killing of Bartica shopkeeper

Eighteen years after the brutal killing of a gold miner in the Arimu Backdam, a Bartica man who was deported from France has been sentenced to thirteen years in prison for the killing.
Michael O’lando Corrica, 44, formerly of Lot 02 Fourth Avenue, Bartica, Essequibo River, appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court on April 29, where he had pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.
The case, prosecuted by State Counsel Caressa Henry, stemmed from the February 2007 death of Oswald Joris, also known as “Buns,” a miner of First Avenue, Bartica.
According to reports presented in court, Corrica operated a shop in the Arimu area where Joris worked as a miner. The two men, who were known to each other, became embroiled in a heated argument during which Corrica armed himself with a cutlass and chopped Joris multiple times.
The attack proved fatal, and Corrica fled the country shortly after the incident. He managed to remain at large for more than sixteen years before being deported from France and arrested upon arrival in Guyana. He was arraigned in June 2023 before Magistrate Esther Sam and remanded to prison pending trial in the High Court.
At the sentencing hearing this week, Justice Singh began with a base sentence of thirty years. Corrica’s early guilty plea led the court to deduct ten years from the starting sentence. An additional five years were deducted after the court considered a probation report compiled by Von Venture and a prison conduct report, both of which reflected positively on Corrica’s behaviour and rehabilitation prospects.
Corrica was further credited with a four-year reduction for expressing genuine remorse during his plea in mitigation, presented by Defence Counsel Latchmie Dindyal.
However, Justice Singh added two years to the sentence after reviewing a victim impact statement prepared by S. Davis. The statement outlined the psychological trauma and long-term emotional suffering endured by Joris’s family following the killing.
Taking all factors into account, the court imposed a final sentence of thirteen years imprisonment. Justice Singh also ordered that the time Corrica has already spent in custody since his 2023 arrest be deducted from the overall sentence.
The sentencing brings to a close a case that had remained unresolved for nearly two decades and offers some measure of closure to the family of Oswald Joris, who had long awaited justice for their loved one’s death.