“Outlaw” gets 15 years for abducting, assaulting ex-girlfriend

A man who had previously violated a restraining order from his ex-girlfriend and had been jailed twice for doing so was on Friday jailed for 15 years for abducting her.
Junior Fortune, called ‘Outlaw’ of Angoy’s Avenue in New Amsterdam, Berbice, was charged with abducting Onica Crawford in December 2022.
He was also indicted for assaulting the woman with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; or to maim, disfigure, or disable her.
Fortune did not wait for a jury to hear the evidence in the Berbice High Court, but opted to plead guilty before Justice Somone Morris-Ramlall and was slapped with a 15-year sentence.
The incident occurred on December 27, 2022. After being injured, Crawford was locked in her Angoy’s Avenue house in an unconscious state and was left for dead.
State prosecutor Cicelia Corbin told the court that Crawford had severed the relationship and had taken out a restraining order against Fortune. The order banning Fortune from going within 50 feet of Crawford was made in November 2022 and is valid for five years.

However, Fortune breached the order and was slapped with a four-month sentence.
Crawford had moved on with her life, and was at a friend’s house on Boxing Day in 2022 when Fortune, armed with a knife, kicked down the door and abducted Crawford.
The woman was also choked, resulting in her being hospitalised for two weeks.
The act was considered a breach of the restraining order, and Fortune was given an 8-month sentence for that.
However, in January of this year, Fortune filed for a restraining order against Crawford, but the court did not grant it.
Before the court passed the sentence on Fortune, the prosecutor read an impact report from the victim. The prosecutor told the court that after Fortune had been released from prison a second time, Crawford had had to move from her home and live like a fugitive so that he could not find her.
Crawford spoke about the trauma she had suffered, making specific mention of numerous sleepless nights.
The court was told that several months after the incident, when Crawford was able to move around and was supervising the cleaning of her yard, she discovered that the entire top portion of her septic tank had been chiseled open, and she was of the belief that Fortune had been planning to dispose of her body when the incident occurred.
Justice Morris-Ramlall imposed the maximum sentence allowed; five years for abducting Crawford, and a further 10 years for causing grievous bodily harm. The sentences are to run concurrently.