“Rasta Beans” jailed for 15 years for killing pork-knocker

Appearing at the High Court in Essequibo on Friday for sentencing, after previously pleading guilty to a manslaughter indictment for fatally shooting a pork-knocker back in November 2018, Dein Evans, called ‘Rasta Beans’, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for the crime by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder, Evans, 32, formerly of Charlestown, Georgetown, opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.
The Police have said that Xavier Boyal, a 24-year-old pork-knocker who resided at Waramuri Mission, Moruca River, North West District, was shot and killed at Puruni Landing in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district (Region Seven) while he was working with a dredge owner at Rock Creek, Puruni River.
Reports are that, at around 21:00h on November 11, 2018, Boyal had left the camp in the company of his coworker to go to a pub at Puruni Landing. While there, Boyal’s coworker had an altercation with an unknown man, and Boyal intervened and pushed the man away. Thereafter, Boyal and his workmate started walking back to their mining camp along the Puruni Road.
It has further been reported that Evans caught up with the men in a vehicle driven by another person, and he pulled out a black handgun from the waist of his pants, pointed it in the direction of Boyal, and opened fire. A bullet struck Boyal, causing him to fall. Evans then exited the vehicle and discharged another round at Boyal before making good his escape. Boyal sustained three gunshot wounds – one above the abdomen, one under his right arm, and another to his upper back.
One month after the killing, Evans was captured by Police ranks at Sulphur Road Backdam in Cuyuni River, after cutting off his dreadlocks to change his appearance.
At his sentencing hearing on Friday, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry explained that, in arriving at an appropriate sentence for Evans, she considered the nature and gravity of the offence, and Evans’s early guilty plea.
Prison officials told the court that Evans was busted several times distributing contraband in prison. As such, he had to be relocated to another section.
From the 15-year sentence imposed on Evans, prison officials were ordered to deduct the time he had spent in pretrial custody. Evans was represented by lawyer Ravindra Mohabir, while State Counsel Tiffini Lyken presented the case for the prosecution. (G1)