A 31-year-old man from San Fernando, who stabbed a neighbour to death after attempting to rob him of his cellphone in 2009, is expected to be sentenced on Friday.
Kevin Vincent, of Cocoyea Village, was initially charged with murdering television cameraman Akeel Mathison on August 28, 2009, but was allowed to plead guilty to felony murder based on a recent plea agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Under the felony murder rule, the mandatory death penalty for murder is waived in circumstances where death results during the commission of a lesser violent criminal offence, which in most cases is robbery.
During a hearing before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds yesterday afternoon, the agreement was accepted and Vincent was allowed to enter his plea.
Although Vincent’s lawyer Adelia Jordan, of the Public Defenders’ Department, presented a mitigation plea on his behalf, he was not immediately sentenced by Justice Ramsumair-Hinds, who adjourned the case to further consider the submissions.
According to the summary of the evidence presented during the hearing, 22-year-old Mathison was murdered at an internet cafe at Coffee Street, San Fernando.
Mathison was allegedly attacked by Vincent and a group of men, who attempted to rob him of his Blackberry cellphone and stabbed him after he resisted.
Mathison identified his attackers to an employee before being taken for medical treatment. Mathison eventually succumbed to stab wounds to his chest and back.
Vincent was arrested by police after being identified by one of his friends, who claimed to have been liming with him but claimed to have not participated in the robbery or murder.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, State prosecutor Ravita Persad-Maharaj agreed not to oppose a starting sentence of 23 years in prison.
In her mitigation plea, Jordan called on Justice Ramsumair-Hinds to reduce the starting point by three to five years before applying a one-third discount for Vincent’s guilty plea and deducting the time he spent on remand awaiting trial.
To justify the significant reduction, Jordan pointed out that Vincent was 19 years at the time and had a clean criminal record.
She also noted that Vincent had an exemplary disciplinary record in prison and was made an orderly tasked with assisting prison officers with sanitisation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan claimed Vincent attempted to complete his secondary school education whilst in prison but was hampered by the deferral of programmes due to the pandemic.
While Mathison’s father was present during the hearing, he declined to provide a victim impact statement over the effect on his son’s murder on him and his family.
Vincent was allowed to read a statement, in which he apologised to Mathison’s family and friends.
“I know no amount of words could ever compensate for the damage I have caused you. At 19, I was very blind and complacent to the fact that life is very fragile and our purpose is to uplift and add value to each other’s experiences and lives,” he said.
“Having been incarcerated for this time, I have come to understand how my unnecessary actions have caused an innocent life to be lost.”
He also pleaded with Mathison’s family to eventually forgive him.
“I know I am not a perfect person but I continue to pray and hope that you are able to find peace,” Vincent said.