Conviction of man who killed ex-girlfriend upheld, but sentence reduced to 46 years

Jermaine Maynard, who was sentenced to 88 years imprisonment for fatally shooting his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, had his sentence reduced to 46 years on Monday by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the initial sentence was excessive.

In 2016, Maynard, 48, was sentenced by Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court after he was found guilty by a 12-member jury of the murder of Carlisa Matthews which occurred between December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2014, at Croal Street, Georgetown.

After taking into consideration the role of domestic violence and premeditation in the crime in addition to Maynard’s previous conviction for a similar offence, Justice Singh sentenced him to serve 88 years behind bars.

Maynard’s attorney Nigel Hughes and associate Jed Vasconcellos filed an appeal challenging the conviction and sentence on the ground that it was excessive.

The appeal was heard by Chancellor (ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud at the Court of Appeal. The State was represented by Prosecutor Dionne McCammon.

Delivering the ruling of the court, the Chancellor said, among other things, that the trial judge erred in the determination of the term of sentence.

According to reports, Maynard and Matthews were in an abusive relationship for several years which ended six months before her demise.

On December 31, 2013, at about 11:50hrs, Matthews was standing by KFC, Stabroek Market area when Maynard shot her in the head.

He attempted to shoot her a second time, but his firearm malfunctioned and he rode away on a bicycle.

Matthews was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and died in the wee hours of January 1, 2014.

Maynard was nabbed the next day at Springlands, Corentyne near the backtrack route from where it was believed he was about to leave Guyana illegally for neighbouring Suriname.