Grove man who wounded neighbour gets life sentence reduced to nine years

Andy Boodram called ‘Boy’, who is currently serving a life sentence for wounding his neighbour, had his sentence reduced to nine years by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

The case dates back to 2018 when Boodram stood trial before Justice Navindra Singh in the Demerara High Court.

A 12-member jury found Boodram not guilty of wounding Deonarine Persaud on September 4, 2011.

However, the jury found him guilty of an alternative count of felonious wounding.

Subsequently, Boodram’s attorney, George Thomas, moved to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the conviction was unjust and that the sentence imposed was excessively severe.

The appeal was heard by Chancellor (ag), Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud.

In delivering the court’s ruling, the Chancellor, among other things, granted the appeal on the basis that the trial judge had not adhered to the established sentencing guidelines.

Consequently, the life imprisonment sentence was reduced to nine years, less time served.

According to reports, on the day in question about 20:00 hours, the victim went to Boodram’s home requesting him to lower the volume of loud music that was disturbing his newborn baby.

A fight ensued between the two men, during which Boodram armed himself with a cutlass and inflicted three chop wounds on Persaud’s head.

The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent several surgeries to treat the wounds he sustained during the altercation.