Two men each jailed for over a decade for robbing, killing phone card vendor

Two men have been jailed for over 10 years each for a robbery that resulted in the death of Ron Mansfield, a phone card vendor from Westminster, West Bank Demerara (WBD).

Alexander La Cruz and Mark Welch, both 31, had the custodial sentence imposed on them on Wednesday by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the High Court in Demerara.

While La Cruz was imprisoned for 13 years, his accomplice Welch was given a 14-year jail term. Both of them were given credit for the time they had spent in pre-trial custody.

Daed: Ron Mansfield

Last month, the pair had pleaded guilty to murdering 37-year-old Mansfield, a father of two, during the course or furtherance of a robbery on June 19, 2018.

Shortly after riding his motorcycle home from work, Mansfield, of 772 Westminster, West Bank Demerara, was ambushed and shot in the chest at around 20:30 hours on the day in question.

While being transported to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, he passed away. In the meantime, his bag with his cash and phone cards was nowhere to be discovered.

Regarding Welch and La Cruz’s involvement in the heist, the former served as the watchman while the latter drove his accomplices to and from the location.

The two were represented by attorney Tuanna Hardy. Attorneys-at-law Madana Rampersaud, Delon Fraser, Caressa Henry, and Rbina Christmas prosecuted this case.