Man who killed friend during drunken brawl jailed for 16 years

Twenty-three-year-old Ryan Alberts, called “Murray”, of Yarakita Village, North West District (NWD) was on Wednesday sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for killing his 19-year-old friend Dalton Emmanuel of Yarakita, NWD on March 29, 2016 during a drinking spree.

Alberts, who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge since last October, appeared before Justice Jo- Ann Barlow at the Essequibo High Court and admitted to killing Emmanuel in the county of Essequibo on March 29, 2016. He also accepted that he unlawfully assaulted his other friend, Mark Edwards, so as to cause him actual bodily harm on the said day.
State Prosecutor Latifah Elliot stated that, at about 16:00h on March 29, 2016, Alberts and his friends were at the Yarakita playground consuming High Wine. They later left for home, and while walking, another man approached Edwards.
The two spoke for a short while, after which Emmanuel asked Alberts if he wanted some more High Wine. After taking a shot of the liquor, Alberts and Emmanuel got into a heated argument, during which they chucked each other.
Edwards intervened by telling them to “behave”. However, Alberts asked Edwards, “What you gon do about it?” Alberts then walked up to Edwards and stabbed him. Thereafter, a fight ensued between Alberts and Emmanuel, during which the latter was stabbed to his abdomen with a pair of scissors.
Emmanuel’s cause of death has been given as perforation of the heart.
At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Alberts, who appeared in court virtually, expressed how sorry he was for what he had done. In so doing, he implored the court to have mercy on him.
“I would like to beg the court for mercy. I’m very sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for the life that I take, but I never had the intention of doing these things. I can’t really know what tek place the night; I accept it, and I’m very sorry for what happen.”
His lawyer Ravindra Mohabir, during a plea in mitigation, asked the court to consider his client’s young age, which makes him a good candidate for rehabilitation. He also highlighted that his client has no antecedents or pending charges.
The lawyer said his client, who has been on remand since 2016, opted to plead guilty at the earliest possible time. According to him, from the outset, Alberts has cooperated with the Police investigation, and even gave a caution statement.
Meanwhile, Justice Barlow, in her sentencing remarks, reminded the convict that his drunken actions resulted in the loss of life and serious injuries to another.
Given that such offences are very prevalent in society, she told Alberts, the court has to impose a custodial sentence to ensure that measures are taken for him to be a “better person” when he returns to society.
Recounting the facts, the Judge noted that Edwards tried his best to part the fight between the two, and had he been successful, Emmanuel might have still have been alive.
In determining an appropriate sentence for the confessed killer, the Judge considered that Alberts was just over 18 when he committed the offence. She also considered his unblemished criminal record, his early guilty plea, as well as his genuine expression of remorse.
Justice Barlow said alcohol “must have affected” Alberts’s mind, since a large quantity of High Wine had been consumed on the fatal day.
She explained that the use of alcohol leading to drunkenness was already taken into account, since Alberts was indicted for the lesser offence and not murder. The Judge urged the convict to use his time in prison to reflect on what he had done.
“Promise yourself that you will not consume alcohol like that. Because sometimes when we consume alcohol, we don’t know what we are doing. You are a young man, do not see this as the end of your life; see this as an opportunity to make yourself a better person…so that you will not be recognised as a jail man or a man who killed, but as a better person,” Justice Barlow advised Alberts.
In the end, Justice Barlow sentenced Alberts to 16 years in prison on the manslaughter charge. From the sentence, the Judge ordered the prison authorities to make the following deductions: two years for mitigating factors, one-third for the early guilty plea, and time the convict spent in pre-trial custody.
On the wounding charge, he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. The 16-year and four-year sentences will run concurrently. Alberts will be exposed to counselling for persons who have committed violent offences while intoxicated. (G1)