Derek Achong
Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A man has been sentenced to a little under 20 years in prison after admitting to abducting an 80-year-old Justice of the Peace (JP), who was later found murdered in 2008.
Jason Wharton, who was awaiting trial for murdering JP Winston Best, was allowed to plead guilty to felony murder before Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds based on a plea agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions struck earlier this month.
Under the felony murder rule, the mandatory death penalty for murder is waived in circumstances where death results during the commission of a lesser criminal offence.
According to the summary of evidence in the case, on February 24, 2008, Best was reported missing after he was picked up by a man at his Morvant home and did not return.
Five days later, Best’s body was found buried in a shallow grave at Quarry Road in San Juan.
The car that was used by the man to pick up Best was found abandoned at a shopping centre in central Trinidad.
An autopsy revealed that Best was strangled and shot in his head.
When Wharton was detained by police weeks later, he confessed to his role in the crime.
He claimed that he was contacted by a group of men who asked him to arrange to pick up Best and deliver him to them.
Wharton claimed that he initially declined but eventually relented after the men threatened to murder him if he did not comply.
He admitted that he contacted Best and told him that he had an elderly and bedridden relative in Trincity who required his services.
After picking up Best, he claimed, he took him to the men who were at the location where his body was eventually found.
He then abandoned the vehicle he used.
During the hearing, prosecutor Charmaine Samuel presented a victim impact statement from Best’s daughter.
She claimed that her father’s murder had a lasting impact on their family, especially her mother, whose mental and physical health deteriorated.
She also called on Justice Ramsumair-Hinds to ensure that Wharton served a lengthy sentence for the crime, as he did not show remorse and declined to identify the people who instructed him to kidnap her father.
“I would hope the time served in prison would give him time to reflect on how his actions affected us,” she said.
In his mitigation plea, Wharton’s lawyer, Wayne Sturge, pointed out that his client had repeatedly expressed willingness to plead guilty to the crime but could not do so as he was facing the mandatory death penalty.
He suggested that Wharton was only able to take the action after the DPP’s Office agreed to the plea agreement.
“I ask the court to temper justice with mercy and give Mr Wharton an opportunity to make the best of the rest of his life,” Sturge said.
In assessing the appropriate sentence for Wharton, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds noted that the 30-year starting sentence agreed to by prosecutors and his defence attorneys could have been higher.
However, she declined to increase it as she noted that it would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds then applied a one-year discount based on Wharton’s clean criminal record before being charged and the assistance he provided to the police.
“He was prepared to face a mandatory death penalty all in an effort to spare the State and witnesses the hardship and expenses of a trial,” she said.
While she noted that Wharton claimed that he was under duress, she pointed out that it was not a valid excuse for his actions.
“It does not excuse it at all,” she said.
After applying a one-third discount for his guilty plea and deducting the time he spent on remand before being sentenced, Wharton was left with three years, eight months and ten days to serve before he was eventually released.
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds also sought to explain why she could not prolong Wharton’s time in prison as suggested by Best’s daughter.
“The idea of locking up people and throwing away the key is frankly not the reality. People who run afoul of the law eventually rejoin us in society,” Justice Ramsumair-Hinds said.
“It is my hope that when you rejoin us in society, you make changes for the greater good. I wish you all the best. Please be very circumspect of the choices you make,” she added.
Wharton was also represented by Danielle Rampersad.
