Duo slapped with 14-year jail sentences for murder of Linden businessman

Two men were handed respective sentences of life in prison and 14 years’ imprisonment by Demerara High Court Justice Brassington Reynolds for the 2015 murder of Richard Remington, a resident of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Stafrei Alexander, who is currently serving a life sentence for attempted murder, and Owen Belfield were found guilty of the crime by a jury back in April. During their sentencing hearing on Tuesday, High Court Justice Brassington Reynolds imposed another life sentence on Alexander, ordering that he be ineligible for parole before serving 25 years of his sentence.
Belfield, on the other hand, has been imprisoned for another 14 years, from which would be deducted the time he has already spent in pre-trial custody.
Alexander, called “Ratty” and “Mad Dog”, and Belfield had initially pleaded not guilty to the joint indictment, which stated that they murdered 44-year-old Remington between February 8 and 12, 2015 in the county of Demerara.
Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh had testified that Remington was shot twice to his right-side temple. He gave the man’s cause of death as gunshot injuries to the head.
Remington’s decomposed remains were found in a clump of bushes along a track in the vicinity of Matthews Lane in Christianburg/Cholmondeley Hill, Linden.
The late Remington’s relatives had told the Police that he had left his home three days before his body was discovered. They had also opined that he might have been lured into the bushy spot by someone he had known.
Back in 2018, Alexander was found guilty of attempted murder, and was sentenced to serve life in prison. On March 23, 2015, in the county of Demerara, he discharged a loaded firearm at Curtis Thom with intent to murder him. The facts of the case are that the two men were not friends, even though they resided in the same community. On the day in question, Thom had held a christening at his Laing Avenue, Georgetown home to welcome his baby daughter.
When the event was concluded and the guests had left, Thom went to the back of his yard to clean up and feed his dogs, when Alexander walked past him and grumbled something. As Thom was entering his home, he saw Alexander standing next to him, holding a shiny gun.
Alexander shot Thom twice, and Thom collapsed to the ground in a bloody state. The injured man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he underwent surgery and remained a patient for seven weeks.
Alexander was among several high-profile inmates who escaped from custody when a fire destroyed the Camp Street Prison in Georgetown back in 2017. Then, in January 2021, Alexander was found not guilty of murdering Terrence Thomas, whose body was found floating in the Demerara River.
It was alleged that Alexander murdered Thomas between December 8 and 11, 2015 at Linden. Alexander and Thomas had escaped from the Mackenzie Police Station, where they were being held for questioning in relation to the murder of Linden businesswoman Shevon Gordon, who was gunned down during a robbery outside her Linden home on April 4, 2015.
It was reported that, while in custody, Thomas provided the Police with vital information about the woman’s murder. He was, however, later found dead in the Demerara River in the vicinity of West Watooka, Wismar, Linden.
Alexander, who is awaiting trial for the woman’s murder, was previously sentenced to two years in prison for escaping from lawful custody.