An Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) man who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of a 66-year-old taxi driver.
Roopchan Taylor, 30, a father of one, appeared before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall on Wednesday at the Demerara High Court, where the punishment was imposed on him.
Initially indicted for the capital offence of murder, Taylor had opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, admitting that he unlawfully killed Aaron Damdar, a father of three.
The Judge took into account a number of factors while determining an appropriate sentence for the convict, including his early guilty plea, the fact that he is still relatively young and has a realistic chance of rehabilitation, his prior unblemished criminal record, the fact that his expression of regret and apology to the deceased’s family seemed sincere and the positive probation report.
She also thought about how Taylor’s intoxicated state may have contributed to an apparent misunderstanding that resulted in the loss of life. Taylor’s pre-trial custody time has to be subtracted by the prison service from his eight-year sentence.
The accepted facts detailed that on October 20, 2019, at Ogle Sideline Dam, East Coast Demerara (ECD), Damdar, a father of three, of Mes Delices, Canal No. 1, West Bank Demerara (WBD), had attacked Taylor’s mother after she allegedly boarded his car while intoxicated.
In responding to his mother’s cries for help when he heard them, Taylor and the geriatric Damdar became embroiled in an argument, which resulted in Damdar being hit in the face and sent sprawling to the ground. Damdar was hospitalised after the incident, but died a few days later.
This publication understands that Damdar died from brain injury caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
During an interview with a probation officer, Taylor’s mother described him as “quiet,” but the probation officer also reported that family members claimed he verbally abused them, especially when he was high on marijuana and alcohol.
According to the social services officer, Taylor’s ex-reputed wife and mother of his eight-year-old son related that their relationship had been “good”, until the birth of their child.
The probation officer reported that prison officers had told her that Taylor has displayed positive behaviour, and is enrolled in rehabilitative programmes.
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Damdar, widow of the deceased, described her late husband as hardworking and expressed conviction that her family should be compensated for her husband’s killing.
Taylor’s lawyer, Teriq Mohammed, stated during a plea in mitigation that his client had intervened in that situation to protect his mother, and that his actions had not been planned.
As such, counsel implored the court to “please have mercy and leniency” on his client.
When the Judge asked if he had anything to say, a soft-spoken Taylor responded: “I am very sorry for what happened. I was just trying to save my mother. I apologise”, and went on to beg Mrs. Damdar, who was seated in the courtroom, for forgiveness.
State Attorney Praneeta Seeraj, in her submissions, had asked the court to take into account a variety of aggravating circumstances while determining the proper sentence, such as the seriousness and frequency of the offence, as well as the fact that Taylor had been intoxicated at the time of the attack.
After the now-deceased man was admitted to the hospital, Taylor was accused of attempting to kill him. However, the charge against him was upgraded to murder after his passing.
