Murder over bicycle: Man jailed for 12 years

Ravindra Paremdass was on Monday sentenced to 12 years in jail after pleading guilty to killing another man during a row over a bicycle.

High Court judge James Bovell-Drakes handed down the sentence to on Paremdass, called Munesh, who opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

The indictment read that between December 20, 2012, and December 21, 2012, at Providence, East Bank Demerara, Paremdass unlawfully killed Roopram Jagdeo called “Lil Baby” and “Ribbit.

According to reports, Paremdass and Jagdeo were involved in an altercation over a bicycle.  During the confrontation, the accused killed Jagdeo by dealing him several blows to the head with a piece of wood.

Paremdass, formerly of Providence, East Bank Demerara, was represented by attorney-at-law Maxwell McKay while the state was represented by prosecutor Tameika Clarke and TiffniLyken.

Before sentencing, the report was read in court by a probation officer and Paremdass was described as an alcoholic by several of his former workmates and residents of the Providence community, where he had lived.

The court was told that Paremdass, while imprisoned, received certificates and medals after successfully completing a tailoring course.

“I apologize to the Court. I apologize to the deceased’s family and I am begging for mercy. Give me a second chance,” Paremdass told the court.

Before passing sentence, Justice Bovell-Drakes told Paremdass that he hopes that his sentence would be a wakeup call, noting that consuming excessive alcohol can cause people to do things they don’t normally do.

In 2015, Paremdass was tried and sentenced to 57 years in jail by Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court after a 12-member jury found him guilty of murdering Jagdeo.

Paremdass, later filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence which were both overturned by three Justices of Appeal in 2018 causing the matter to be re-tried at the January 2019 Demerara Assizes.