Two brothers and their cousin who fatally attacked a watchman because he molested two girls in the toilet of Gasparillo Government Primary School in 2002 were sentenced to one year and three months in jail on Thursday. In passing sentence, Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas said the men acted in “hot blood,” but vigilante actions and frontier justice must not be condoned. Even though young girls were assaulted, he said it was not right for the men to have responded with violence.
Kirth Alexander, also known as Quincy, 44, and brothers Sheldon Walker, 35, and Sherwin Walker, 37, of Johnson Street, were charged with murder, but the State accepted their guilty plea on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Narine Babwah, 42, of Barrackpore, was found dead at the back of the school on Carnival Tuesday, 2002. A post-mortem revealed he died from head injuries caused by a blunt object.
They were charged with murder, committed on the lesser count of manslaughter in May 2005 and subsequently re-indicted for murder in August 2008. In January, a jury was empanelled in the San Fernando High Court, but was directed by the judge to formally return not-guilty verdicts for murder and guilty verdicts for manslaughter.
Noting that the sentencing scale for manslaughter ranged from a bond to 25 years, the judge said an appropriate sentence was 15 years, but deducted a third of the sentence for their guilty plea, as well as the eight years and nine months spent in custody. Despite the probation officer’s report that the prisoners were of good character before the incident and were exemplary prisoners, the judge said they must be held accountable and punished for taking a life.
The accused gave statements to the police after they were arrested in March 2002. They said the girls, aged 13 and 14 complained that Babwah had interfered with them when they went to use the school toilet on February 12, 2002. Sherwin said: “Quincy started to cuff and kick the man. Quincy hit the man with a bottle and Sheldon take a chair and hit the man with it. “The man started to run. Sheldon pelt a bottle at the man which mash up in the car park.”
Sherwin said he did not pelt any bottles, although he had one in his hand. He said Quincy and Sheldon ran after him. “Quincy kicked and cuffed the man. Quincy took a rum bottle and pelt the man, who later fell.” Sheldon said Quincy pelted Narine with a bottle and cuffed him and they scrambled. Sheldon claimed he hit Narine once with a bottle. Alexander (Quincy) only admitted to clouting Narine and hitting him with a bottle. The men first went on trial for murder in 2010 but it was aborted.
Alexander was represented by attorney Wilston Campbell, instructed by Giselle Landeau; Sheldon by attorney Richard Valere, instructed by Marissa Bubb and Sherwin by attorney Rekha Ramjit. State attorney Trevor Jones and Angelica Teelucksingh prosecuted.