“I was just trying to save my mother, I apologise” – man jailed for killing man who attacked his mother

An Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) resident who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of a 66-year-old taxi driver.
The punishment has been imposed on Roopchan Taylor, 30, a father of one, by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall on Wednesday at the Demerara High Court.
Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder, Taylor had opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, admitting that he had unlawfully killed Aaron Damdar, a father of three.
The judge took into account a number of factors in determining an appropriate sentence for the convict, including his early guilty plea, the fact that he is still relatively young and has a realistic chance of rehabilitation, his prior unblemished criminal record, the fact that his expression of regret and apology to the family of the deceased seemed sincere, and the positive probation report.
She also considered that Taylor’s intoxicated state may have contributed to an apparent misunderstanding that resulted in the loss of life.
Taylor’s pre-trial custody time has to be subtracted by the Prison Service from his eight-year sentence.
The accepted facts detailed that on October 20, 2019, at Ogle Sideline Dam, East Coast Demerara (ECD), Damdar of Mes Delices, Canal No 1, West Bank Demerara (WBD) had attacked Taylor’s mother after she allegedly boarded his car while intoxicated. In responding to his mother’s cries for help when he heard them, Taylor and the geriatric Damdar had become embroiled in an argument, which resulted in Damdar being hit in the face and sent sprawling to the ground.
Damdar had been hospitalised after the incident, but died a few days later. This publication understands that Damdar died from brain injury caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
During an interview with a probation officer, Taylor’s mother had described him as “quiet”, but the probation officer also reported that family members claimed he would verbally abuse them, especially when he was high on marijuana and alcohol.
According to the social services officer, Taylor’s ex-reputed wife and mother of his eight-year-old son had related that their relationship had been “good”, until the birth of their child.
The probation officer further reported that Prison Officers had told her that Taylor has displayed positive behaviour, and is enrolled in rehabilitative programmes.
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Damdar, widow of the deceased, described her late husband as hardworking, and expressed conviction that her family should be compensated for her husband’s killing.
Taylor’s lawyer, Teriq Mohammed, had stated during a plea in mitigation that his client had intervened in that situation to protect his mother, and that his actions had not been premeditated. As such, counsel had implored the court to “please have mercy and leniency” on his client.
When the judge asked if he had anything to say, a soft-spoken Taylor had responded: “I am very sorry for what happened. I was just trying to save my mother. I apologise”, and had gone on to beg Mrs Damdar, who was seated in the courtroom, for forgiveness.
State Attorney Praneeta Seeraj, in her submissions, had asked the court to take into account a variety of aggravating circumstances while determining the proper sentence: such as the seriousness and frequency of the offence, as well as the fact that Taylor had been intoxicated at the time of the attack.
After the late Damdar had been admitted to hospital, Taylor had been accused of attempting to kill him. However, the charge against Taylor was upgraded to murder after Damdar’s passing. (G1)