12 years jail for construction worker who killed Enterprise businessman

Devon Thomas, a construction worker of Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, was on Wednesday sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the brutal killing of Enterprise businessman Kumar Mohabir, which occurred on February 23, 2013.

Thomas was sentenced by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court. In October, Thomas was arraigned for the capital offence of murder but opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, which alleged that he unlawfully killed Mohabir, 25, called ‘Duksy’ and ‘Fire Link.’

He was represented by attorney Surihya Sabsook, while the State was represented by Prosecutor Sarah Martin.

In her sentencing remarks on Wednesday, Justice Barlow said that while there were mitigating factors including Thomas’ youthfulness, the reality of his actions has caused great hardship to the family of the deceased.

The judge said that Thomas’ plea cannot be classified as an early guilty plea since he was tried twice for the said offence; however, Justice Barlow said that the court does not hold this against him.

In the end, the judge sentenced Thomas to 12 years imprisonment; she also deducted one third from the sentence for his plea and eight years, seven months for the time spent on remand.

On July 12, 2021, Thomas and former co-accused Randy Isaacs were on trial for the capital offence before Justice Sandil Kissoon but Isaacs was acquitted.

Mohabir was brutally stabbed by a drunken mob on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, during the Mashramani celebrations.

He was attacked after he went to the location to collect a tent he rented from his neighbours for the Mashramani Day celebrations; he was stabbed by a group of intoxicated persons, armed with broken bottles.

His brother, Navindra Mohabir, was also attacked when he tried to intervene. Kumar Mohabir died while receiving treatment at the Woodlands Hospital.

In 2015, the men were sentenced to 75 years imprisonment each by High Court Judge Navindra Singh with the possibility of parole after serving at least 40 years.

Dissatisfied with the ruling of the High Court, the duo had mounted an appeal against their conviction and sentence, claiming several errors in law were made by the trial judge. The appeal court had set aside their conviction and sentence and ordered a retrial.