“Trini” handed life sentence for murder of agriculturalist

Twenty-five-year-old Keino Corbin, a father of two, who pleaded guilty to killing remigrant Agriculturalist Anthony Breedy, was on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow in the Demerara High Court.
Upon imposing the custodial sentence, the Judge informed the confessed killer that he would become eligible for parole after serving 11 years, nine months and 20 days of that sentence. She told him that this does not mean he would be automatically released from prison when that period elapses; but, rather, he has to convince the Parole Board that he is ready for reintegration into society.

Corbin, formerly of Timehri, East Bank Demerara, was indicted for the capital offence of murder in April, and pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that he murdered the 60-year-old Breedy between March 12 and 14, 2016 during the course/furtherance of a robbery.
He had been further remanded to prison pending a sentencing hearing.
Police have said that the body of Breedy, a farmer of Hill Foot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, who had lived alone, was found in the lower flat of his home at about 11:00h on March 14, 2016. His body, found with his hands and feet tied, bore multiple injuries to the head.
A Police report said that the upper flat of the man’s home had been ransacked. His cause of death was given as asphyxia due to manual strangulation, compounded by multiple blunt traumas to the head.
During Corbin’s sentencing hearing, a probation officer who had interviewed him said that he had expressed regret and remorse for his actions, and was begging the family of the deceased Anthony Breedy for forgiveness.
“I am begging for another chance to go out into society and show them that I am a changed person. I does always regret what transpired, because I’m not that kind of person,” Corbin had said when given a chance to address the court virtually from prison.

According to the probation officer, persons in Corbin’s community had described him as a quiet young man, but lamented that he associated with young men of questionable character.
The court heard that Corbin had spent most of his life in Trinidad and Tobago, where his two children are currently residing. Upon his return to his homeland in 2015, he began working at a hardware store.
He was also described as being gifted with his hands, since he is skilled at fixing things. Prison officials had nothing bad to say about him, describing him as a compliant and disciplined inmate.
During his time in jail, Corbin, who had dropped out of high school, had attended anger management and leather craft classes.
Breedy’s older brother, in a victim impact statement, had noted that his family is still trying to come to grips with their loved one’s untimely demise. The man said that his brother, who returned home from Montserrat upon retirement, was loved by everyone. He said that Corbin robbed his brother of life, and shattered his dreams of enjoying his retirement.

For her part, Justice Barlow, in arriving at an appropriate sentence, weighed the aggravating and mitigating factors and the circumstances of the case. Although the maximum sentence for this category of murder is death, Justice Barlow explained, she would not impose such a sentence, because the convict has been taking steps to better himself.
In the end, she sentenced him to life imprisonment, and ordered that he becomes eligible for parole only after serving 11 years, nine months and 20 days of that sentence. The Judge also ordered that Corbin is to continue participating in courses offered by the prison. She also advised Corbin that, upon his release from prison, he should stay away from bad company.
Corbin was represented by defence counsel Ravindra Mohabir, while State Counsel Latifah Elliott had appeared on behalf of the prosecution.
Trapp’s father is currently incarcerated in Trinidad and Tobago for his wife’s murder.
Another man, Donell Trapp, also known as ‘Shortman’, 26, is currently on remand, awaiting a retrial for Breedy’s murder. His first trial, which concluded earlier this month, ended in a hung jury, after the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
In 2016, Corbin, Trapp and Paul Gorriah were jointly charged with the pensioner’s murder.
State Counsel Latifah Elliott said that, under caution, Corbin admitted to being part of a gang of men that broke into Breedy’s house. He also confessed to hitting the man in the face with a concrete block, before helping his accomplices to tie him up, the prosecutor added.