Gold miner who killed bus driver to serve 2 more years in jail

Sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter but having already spent eight years in pretrial custody, 38-year-old gold miner Orin Jerrick will have to spend only two more years in custody for him to have fully served his sentence.
Jerrick, of Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was initially indicted for the July 13, 2014 murder of Gavin Fiffee, a 31-year-old father of three of Beterverwagting, ECD. He, however, opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter following his arraignment last month before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the High Court in Demerara.

Media reports are that on July 31, 2014, Jerrick stabbed Fiffee at the Plaisance minibus park in Georgetown. It was reported that on the day in question, Fiffee was loading his minibus when Jerrick began urinating on the wheel. As a result, the now dead man confronted him and an argument ensued. During the argument, Fifee pulled a cutlass on Jerrick, who retaliated by stabbing him with a knife to his upper chest.
An injured Fiffee was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital by public-spirited citizens, but succumbed to his injuries while receiving medical attention. A few days later, Jerrick, who had escaped, surrendered to the Police.
At Jerrick’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday, November 15, the late Gavin Fiffee’s mother demanded justice for her son, whom she said was murdered in cold blood. “My son didn’t deserve to die in this manner. I’m hurt with pain to know that my son was hurt for no reason,” the grieving woman said.

Leniency
She implored the Judge to sentence Jerrick to either death or life imprisonment.
In begging the Judge for leniency and the victim’s family for forgiveness, Jerrick stated: “I am very sorry for what happened.” His lawyer, Konyo Sandiford-Holder, begged Justice Morris-Ramlall to temper justice with mercy, submitting that her client is a suitable candidate for rehabilitation.
The prosecutor, State Counsel Muntaz Ali, asked the court to consider the serious nature and prevalence of the offence when calculating a punishment for the confessed killer. “A deadly weapon was used during the commissioning of this offence, and that is a knife. [Fiffee] was a young adult intentionally deprived of his right to live a full and successful life. After [Jerrick] stabbed [Fiffee], he fled the scene,” the prosecutor highlighted.

For her part, Justice Morris-Ramlall, in her sentencing remarks, said Fiffee was the aggressor, since he attacked Jerrick with a cutlass. The Judge, in arriving at an appropriate sentence for the convict, considered, among other things, the serious nature and prevalence of the offence, as well as the impact Fiffee’s death has had and continues to have on his family. According to her, Jerrick has expressed “genuine remorse” for his actions.
In calculating her sentence, she commenced at a base of 18 years, from which one-third (six years) was deducted for Jerrick’s early guilty plea. From the remaining 12 years, a deduction of two years was made for mitigating factors.
A total of 10 years remained. Jerrick, who has been on remand for eight years, was given full credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, meaning that he has about two more years in prison.
State Counsels Simran Gajraj and Taneisha Saygon were the other prosecutors.
Jerrick was initially tried for Fiffee’s murder in 2016 and was convicted on the lesser count of manslaughter and sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment. He, however, appealed his conviction and sentence, which were both overturned by the Court of Appeal of Guyana in 2020.
As a consequence, Jerrick’s case was remitted to the High Court for a new trial. When the case came up last month, Jerrick, who was indicted for murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. (G1)