TWO men have been sentenced for their roles in chopping an acquaintance during a fight over profits from a punch business they started in Valencia in 2009.
Franklyn Daniel Julien, also known as Barney, 34, and Alister "Star” Ferdinand, 31, were sentenced by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds on February 28, after she accepted their guilty pleas.
The two had plea-deal discussions with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution which allowed them to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter on the basis of provocation.
They were before the court on a murder indictment for the killing of Orande Nwardo Reyes, also known as “Half ah Man,” sometime in September 2009.
Reyes was chopped 27 times, with 11 fatal injuries to the skull and brain. His body was dug out of a shallow grave on September 28, 2009.
The judge agreed to a starting-point sentence of 24 years for both men, who also received credit for their good behaviour in prison, their guilty pleas and the time they have already spent incarcerated.
After the relevant deductions, Julien was left with three months left to serve on his sentence and Ferdinand has three months and 11 days left.
In describing Reyes's killing, Ramsumair-Hinds said gratuitous violence was used, although there was a degree of provocation since he had a history of threatening the men.
According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Julien told a neighbour he had killed a man, then told her “Half ah Man” would not be passing by her home again. She thought it was a joke, but he told her he had chopped Reyes and he and Ferdinand took his body in a wheelbarrow up a hill, where they buried it.
Another neighbour saw Julien pushing a wheelbarrow containing something wrapped in a white sheet and held down with two bags of cement. She also saw blood outside Ferdinand’s house.
Another neighbour told police Julien had admitted he and Ferdinand chopped Reyes after the latter pulled a gun at them and threatened to kill them and their families.
In an interview with police, Julien said he and Reyes began a punch business and after he made a profit, he repaid a $400 loan and also shared some of the business's profits with him.
He said he told Reyes he wanted to start his own business but Reyes did not agree, accusing him of trying to rob him. Julien decided to end things with Reyes but was threatened. Julien said Reyes pulled a gun on him.
He said Reyes and Ferdinand, who was nearby, got into a scramble and he started chopping Reyes. He borrowed a fork, dug a hole and buried Reyes. Julien later took the police to where Reyes was buried.
Ferdinand told police, “This half ah man had a conflict with Barney and he come home by me with a blade and chop me, and Barney dive for we blade and Barney chop him up, and I hit him some chop too, boss.”
Julien was charged on September 30, 2009, and Ferdinand on October 9, 2009.
In sentencing the two, Ramsumair-Hinds said while she was not attributing blame to anyone, Julien had dropped out of school at standard four, so “somebody
