Storeowner disappointed at light sentences for youths in multi-million dollar robbery

- gender equality commission urges sentencing guidelines

Following the handing down of community service sentences to two youths who stole over $9M in electronics and other valuables during a gunpoint hold-up of Golyn & Sons Fashion, the store’s proprietor Mahendra Boodhoo has voiced his dissatisfaction with the punishment meted out.

Darien Best, 19, of 429 Guyhoc Park, Georgetown and Joel De Mendonca, 20, of 17 Providence Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD), were found guilty of two charges of armed robbery by city magistrate Judy Latchman, who on Monday sentenced them each to six months of community service.

“I don’t think the magistrate did enough. We have no judicial system,” Boodhoo told Stabroek News.

Darien Best
Darien Best

“The court did find them guilty, it was just a matter of sentencing and I find it very strange that this was the outcome,” he added.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum yesterday said that a file has been dispatched to the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requesting that the sentences be appealed.

Stabroek News has since been informed that one of the grounds listed by the police is that the sentences given should have mirrored the seriousness of the offence committed by the duo.

The sentences handed down to the youths, who were University of Guyana (UG) students when they committed the crime, require that they serve six hours of community service for the next 25 Mondays. In addition, they were also ordered to seek maximum counselling considered fit by the probation officer.

Best is to perform his community service at the Palms while De Mendonca will be at the National Library. Should they fail to abide by the conditions of their sentence, they will face 48 months in jail for each charge.

In handing down the sentences, Magistrate Latchman noted that the court took into consideration the fact that Best and De Mendonca were both young men, that they are first time offenders and also the fact that the probation report highly favoured them.

The apparent light sentences given to the men have elicited criticisms from several quarters.

The Women & Gender Equality Commission yesterday said it was “extremely concerned” at the outcome.

“While the [probation] report may be favourable in the opinion of the social worker the Magistrate should have recognised the serious nature of the offence and sentenced them accordingly,” it said in a statement, while arguing that there is an urgent need for sentencing guidelines.

“A quick perusal of sentencing for robbery in the last weeks would show without a doubt that there is need for urgent guidelines since offences of a similar nature gets three years and more,” it added.

The Commission said it had previously met with the then Attorney General in November, 2013 and expressed its concern and requested the need for sentencing guidelines. In December of the same year, it added, it met with the Chancellor of the Judiciary as well to discuss the same issue. The Chancellor, thereafter, facilitated a meeting with the Commission and all magistrates where “sentencing guidelines” were among the five issues raised, it further said.

Meanwhile, members of the public have taken to social media to voice their outrage at the outcome of the matter, with many expressing the opinion that the youths should have received harsher penalties given the nature of the crime. Some pointed out the disparity in the sentences given to the youths and those given to persons convicted of having possession of small quantities of marijuana. There is a three year minimum sentence for possession of 15 grammes of cannabis or more.

Initially, Best, De Mendonca, and Morris Gibson, were jointly charged with two counts of armed robbery following the attack.

Police said that while being armed with a gun, they robbed store clerk Mohanlall Narine of a quantity of cell phones, valued at $8.968 million and which was the property of Golyn and Sons Fashion, on January 24th, 2014 at Robb Street.

The three were also charged with robbing Narine of two diamond rings, valued at $500,000, and a Samsung Galaxy cell phone, valued at $130,000.

While Best and De Mendonca were found guilty of the charges, the case against Gibson was dismissed earlier in the trial.

It was the prosecution’s case that Gibson went into the store and enquired about the prices of cellphones and a fan. During his enquiries, Best entered the store and reportedly pointed a gun at Narine, who was the sales clerk at the time. He then ordered Narine to pack up the cellphones into a haversack. During the robbery, Narine was also relieved of his two rings and personal cellphone. However, Best, after retrieving the haversack with the stolen items, left the store and joined a waiting car on King Street.

The matter was reported at the Brickdam Police Station and officers, acting on information received, went to Peter’s Hall, EBD, where they intercepted Best and Gibson. At the time of their interception, Best had a haversack on his back. The bag was checked and a number of cellphones were found inside. The two were arrested and questioned. They then took the police to De Mendonca’s Providence home, where he was questioned and admitted that he was the driver of the getaway car. His home was also searched and four cellphones were recovered. The phones were identified by Narine as some of those stolen.