Three years after 27-year-old Ravindra Paremdass was sentenced to 57 years imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh for the killing of a drinking buddy over a bicycle, that sentence was reduced following a retrial that was ordered by the Appeal Court.
In 2016, a 12-member jury unanimous returned a guilty verdict hence, the sentence was given by the learned Judge.
However, in January in 2019, the retrial commenced at the High Court before Justice James Bovell-Drakes where the accused entered a guilty plea after confessing to the 2012 murder to the lesser count of manslaughter.
Before his sentencing today, Paremdass was remorseful and apologized to the court and the family of the deceased. He also begged for leniency in the handing down of the sentence.
Paremdass was accused of killing Roopram Jagdeo, called “Lil Baby” and “Rabbit” between December 20 and 21, 2012, at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Back in 2016, Paremdass’s lawyer, Sanjeev Datadin had appealed the court’s decision on the grounds that Justice Singh failed to adequately put his client’s defence of self-defence to the jury for consideration.
On that ground, the Court of Appeal set aside the previous conviction and jail sentence and ordered that the accused face another trial.
It was reported that the two men were involved in a heated argument over a bicycle and as tension unfolded, Paremdass allegedly dealt Jagdeo several blows to the head with a piece of wood.
In the second trial, the state was represented by Tamieka Clarke.
