A 33-year-old Santa Cruz man, who admitted to beating a man to death after he saw him (the victim) attacking his girlfriend, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Sherwin Andrews, his brother Akim, and their friend Brent Williams were initially charged with murder but were allowed to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter after entering plea agreements with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Andrews’ brother and Williams were sentenced in June but Andrews’ sentence was deferred for his lawyers to obtain reports to be considered by High Court Judge Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.
When the case came up for hearing yesterday morning, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds accepted the 17-year starting sentence that was agreed to by Andrews’ lawyers Kirk Hogan and Tracy-Ann Wiltshire, and the DPP’s Office.
She applied a six-month discount based on the remorse shown by Andrews as well as a one-third discount based on his guilty plea, then ordered his immediate release after noting that he had already served in excess of his sentence while on remand awaiting trial.
According to the evidence, the trio was accused of unlawfully killing Carl Lewis on April 28, 2012.
Williams was walking his friend to her home when she was confronted by Lewis, who she lived with. Lewis, who was armed with a cutlass, reportedly pushed the woman several times before Williams intervened.
Lewis threatened Williams with the cutlass and he (Lewis) and the woman went inside. The woman reportedly took the cutlass and an axe that she found in the house under a chair.
Williams called out to Lewis and challenged him to return outside. When Lewis obliged, the two began a fist fight.
During the altercation, Lewis fell to the ground and Williams kicked him several times. The Andrews brothers arrived in a car and joined Williams in attacking Lewis. The attack only ended after the driver of the car intervened.
Lewis was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and succumbed to his injuries within 30 minutes of being admitted. An autopsy revealed that he died of blunt force injuries to his head.
The three men were arrested almost two months after the incident.
After passing the sentence, Justice Ramsumair-Hinds advised Andrews to be more careful when following the advice of friends.
“You have had a long time to think about how things could have been handled differently,” she said.
“We tend to join in group activities too quickly before thinking what does this mean to me? Circumspection is an important skill that I hope you practice going forward,” she added.
The DPP’s Office was represented by Indira Chinebas.
