Killer apologises to victim’s family before going on his 15 years sentence

Joshua Meredith and his victim Gregory Garraway 

26-year-old Joshua Meredith was on Wednesday sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on a manslaughter charge.

The sentence was handed down by Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the High Court in Demerara.

Initially indicted for the October 2016 murder of 21-year-old Gregory Garraway, Joshua Meredith opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter.

In his address to the court, a remorseful Meredith begged the family of the deceased for forgiveness.

”I am very sorry for the pain that I have caused the family, I know that sorry cannot heal the pain, please find a place in your heart to forgive me, thanks and God bless,” the man told the family of his victim.

A probation report detailed that Meredith who was abandoned by his father lived a delinquent lifestyle.  At age 15, he was charged and convicted of robbery.

But given his tender age, the court fined him $20, 000 and placed him on a bond to keep the peace. Meredith admitted to the probation officer that he and his friends, while armed with guns, would ride around Georgetown and rob people of their valuables.

Meanwhile, officials from the prison said that Meredith was in the habit of being disorderly and disrespectful.

As a result of this, prison officers were forced to place him in solitary confinement.

Residents in the East Ruimveldt, Georgetown community where Meredith grew up also described him as a “notorious criminal”.

According to the facts, on the day in question, Garraway, who was wearing two gold chains around his neck, was at Wings and Things Bar on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

Garraway of Charlestown, Georgetown had gone into the bar to place an order. As he was crossing the street to pick up the said order, Meredith, who was armed with a gun, snatched his chains, and fired a shot at him.

Meredith was subsequently pointed out at an ID parade by Garraway’s brother. At the time of the robbery, Garraway’s brother was standing about five feet away from him.

An autopsy revealed that Garraway sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen and died as a result of septic shock. Meredith and another man, Colvin Johnson are charged with the murder of Paul Rodney, a West Ruimveldt, Georgetown resident.

Based on reports, Rodney, 29, was shot dead on November 21, 2016 outside the East Ruimveldt Secondary School.

He was shot seven times about the body during an argument between him and two other men.