A homeless man, who admitted to killing a fellow street dweller while attempting to rob him of his cocaine stash, has been sentenced to a little over 16 years in prison.
In February, Francis Roland was allowed to plead guilty to felony murder based on a plea agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Under the felony murder rule, the mandatory death penalty for murder is waived in circumstances where death occurs during the commission of a lesser criminal offence, which in most cases is robbery.
He was sentenced by High Court Judge Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds earlier this month.
Roland was accused of murdering Raymond “Double Ugly” Queeley in February 2018.
Queeley’s body was found at Manick Street in Chaguanas.
A post-mortem revealed that he died of blunt force trauma to his head.
Roland was arrested after he was captured attacking Queeley with a length of wood by CCTV cameras in the area where his body was found.
Roland told police that he and another man decided to rob Queeley of his cocaine and money.
He claimed that his co-conspirator did not agree to hit Queeley with the wood, but he chose to do so during the attack, although he did not intend for the blow to be fatal.
He admitted that Queeley did not have any cocaine or cash on him, but claimed that he took some bottles Queeley had collected.
He claimed that he sold the bottles for $80 and split the proceeds with a woman.
In sentencing Roland, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds accepted the 28-year starting sentence that was agreed to by prosecutors and Roland’s lawyers under the plea deal.
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds decided against granting any discount based on Roland’s dysfunctional upbringing and his clean disciplinary record on remand as she noted that such mitigating factors were offset by his lengthy criminal record for drug possession, house breaking and larceny.
“I am of the view that the mitigating factors effectively cancel out the aggravating effect of the unfavourable criminal record,” she said.
While judges typically grant a one-third discount for an early guilty plea, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds decided to grant a higher two-fifths discount based on the fact that Roland maintained his guilt since being charged.
“This is one of the few cases which pass through the ‘Fast Track Court’, where a prisoner indicates and consistently maintains an intention to plead guilty,” she said.
After deducting the time Roland spent on remand before his guilty plea was accepted, he was left with a remaining sentence of eight years and eight months.
“I am satisfied that the final sentence after all relevant calculations is not excessive,” she said.
She encouraged Roland to use his remaining time in prison to continue to participate in rehabilitation programmes.
“He appears to have set a positive trajectory in the time already spent, and continued detention affords him the opportunity to continue his process of rehabilitation in an atmosphere of remorse and accountability,” she said.
Roland was prosecuted by Charmaine Samuel.
