High Court Judge Colin Williams has labeled the murder of Damian Ernest by Samron Thomas and Marvin Albert as “cruel and unprovoked.”
Ernest was murdered “execution style” in the heights of Laudat in 2020 by the two men with the State calling it “a joint enterprise.”
Thomas pleaded “not guilty” on arraignment but was found “guilty” by a nine-member jury after a full trial. Albert on the other hand pleaded guilty but during the sentencing hearing said he was threatened to plead guilty and wanted to change his plea. However, after taking the witness stand and being put under strong cross-examination the court determined that his guilty plea was made voluntarily.
A social inquiry stated that Albert now aged 24 says he was the “protector of his family, especially his mother who always used to caution him about the friends that he kept.”
“My mother used to warn me about my friends, I regret that I did not listen to her,” he told the Social Welfare Officer. He also expressed “remorse and regret at being at the crime scene” but maintained his innocence and that his guilty plea was because of threats. He expressed no remorse for his actions.
The social inquiry report of Thomas revealed that he was the father of one child born after the 2020 murder and was on bail for another charge of murder while committing the offense.
The report states that he has shown “no remorse, declined offer of counseling, disrespectful and disobedient, left school at an early age because he had no respect for school rules and he fought and loitered while at school.”
Justice Williams described Thomas as “the architect of the planning who gave instructions and marshaled his troops.”
Ernest Judge Williams said, he thought that Albert was his friend but he was betrayed and while Thomas was the “mastermind being the killing” Albert was clearing the gunman” He has never admitted he was wrong, should have shown no remorse, and never spoken.
He then gave a starting point under the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Rules of 45 years to Albert. After looking at the aggravation and mitigating features of the case he stated that the aggravating aspects far outweighed the mitigating and increased it by four years bringing it to 49 years. He then looked at the 3 days he spent in custody before being formally charged for the crime and his 3 years 10 months and 3 weeks on remand bringing his sentence to 45 years 1 month and one week in jail from the date of his guilty plea. He then sentenced Samron Thomas to life in jail.
Attorneys for Thomas were Wayne Norde and Gina Abraham-Thomas, while Albert’s Attorney was Bernard Pacquette and Director of the Legal Aid Peter Alleyne. The State’s case was led by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Sherma Dyrample with Daina Matthew and Marie-Louis Pierre Louis.