Ex-cop gets life sentence for Meten-Meer-Zorg double murder

Prince Reid, a former Policeman, was sentenced to life imprisonment following the murder of two men in 2017.

Reid, 61, a Stewartville, West Coast Demerara resident, was sentenced by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Demerara High Court on Thursday afternoon.

Last month, a 12-member jury found Reid guilty of murdering Amit Jairam, also known as Rocky, and Randy Richard Melville during an altercation at the Tarla Dam tarmac in Meten-Meer-Zorg on December 16, 2017.

Considering the gravity of the situation, Justice Morris-Ramlall sentenced Reid to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 23 years on each count.

The elderly man cried throughout the sentencing hearing, claiming it was an accident. However, the Judge did not accept that assertion and instead said Reid’s actions were premediated.

The incident stemmed from a dispute over a ‘chic-chic’ game. Reid, armed with a cutlass, attacked Premnauth Basdeo.

Despite efforts from bystanders, including Jairam, to intervene and render assistance, Reid escalated the violence when he returned to his minibus (registered as BTT 5707) and drove recklessly into the crowd.

This resulted in injuries to Jairam, Melville, and Ahamad.

The men were rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. Jairam and Melville later succumbed to their injuries, however.