A then-14-year-old who in 2023 breached his curfew, stabbed a 19-year-old man to death in Georgetown, then threatened to “deal with” the deceased man’s relatives one by one has been jailed for 11 years.
The killer, Tyshaun Spring, could have been spending 16 years, six months and 13 days behind bars had it not been for a practice direction (guidance given to judges by the court) that judges reduce by up to one-third the sentences handed down on minors.
Spring had pleaded not guilty in January 2025 to a charge that on Nov. 21, 2023, at Georgetown, he murdered Oneil Delicia, another resident of the community.
However, in May 2025, after Spring’s mother testified in the case, his lawyer, Ronald Marks, asked that he be rearraigned. Spring then pleaded guilty to murder.
High Court judge Justice Rickie Burnett summarised the facts of the case as he sentenced Spring in Kingstown on July 24.
The judge did not reveal the full names of witnesses in the matter, identifying them by their initials instead.
He said that on Nov. 21, 2023, about 6:30 p.m., Delicia was in the backyard of AMG’s residence with friends.
Spring, accompanied by another person, arrived on a bicycle near the residence and a bar and restaurant located on Queen Street, Georgetown.
Spring stopped in front of a house, and sometime later, Delicia came out onto the porch and descended the steps to the street.
Spring came off his bike, leaned it up against a parked vehicle and initiated a confrontation, telling Delicia, “Ah war you wah nuh?”
Delicia replied, “Well, do something nuh.”
Witnesses observed the verbal exchange and one of them said, “Wah the @#*% you come do deh?”
Spring then took a black-handled knife from the right side of his waist, rushed into Delicia and stabbed him repeatedly.
Following the assault, Spring, still armed with the knife, went back onto the road.
Two women screamed, alerting others to what had happened. Delicia, who was bleeding, climbed the steps, entered the porch and fell.
Spring remained in the road with a big knife and a female witness confronted him, disarmed him and threw the knife into a yard.
She then left and went to seek help to transport Delicia to the Modern Medical and Diagnostic Centre (MMDC), located in Georgetown.
Two women attempted to stem the bleeding on Delicia’s right shoulder and transported him to MMDC.
Delicia’s brother, seeing his sibling’s injury, took a piece of iron from a nearby vehicle and pursued Spring.
Despite his efforts and those of two others, Spring escaped, and Delicia’s brother later went to the police station to report the incident.
Corporal Laborde went to the scene and retrieved the bloody knife from the location indicated by a woman.
The police went to Georgetown Hospital where Delicia was being treated. He was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. that same evening.
Spring was located near his grandmother’s house, where he was overheard saying, “Ah one by one ah go deal with aryo.”
Upon seeing a person, Spring said, “Ah me aryo ah look fah?”
The person replied, “Come out nah?”
Spring then began throwing bottles at him.
Police later arrived on the scene and retrieved a black-and-grey bookbag from the back of an abandoned vehicle.
Spring was taken to the Georgetown Hospital for medical attention after claiming that he had injuries from the incident.
However, the medical examination reported no acute physical findings.
The following morning, he was assessed by a forensic psychologist.
A post-mortem conducted on Delicia’s body concluded that he died of multiple sharp-point injuries, including 9-cm and 18-cm gaping wounds.
As part of their investigation, the police took Spring, accompanied by a social worker, back to the scene.
He was cautioned and video-recorded pointing out different aspects of the scene and gave police his account.
A psychiatric report of June 2, 2025, prepared by Dr. Enyinne Williams, said Spring admitted to drinking strong rum and cast rum directly from the factory.
He began smoking at age 13 and did so significantly daily. The psychiatrist said he had no pertinent psychiatric issues.
Childhood marred by substance abuse, violence
A social inquiry report said there had been ongoing issues between Spring and Delicia’s family from primary school into secondary school.
There were several reports of incidents involving the parties.
The report said Spring grew up with his grandmother and his aunt. At the time of the stabbing, he was on a curfew and should have been at home, but went to his grandmother’s place.
He attended Georgetown Secondary School but his time there was marred by physical violence and disciplinary issues.
Spring began smoking and drinking at an early age.
Community members described him as an active person and a troubled child who was frequently involved in fights.
They said he was miserable, discourteous to the public, and lacked guidance in a difficult stage of his life.
Delicia’s mother said her family has not been the same since the passing of her son, which has left the family emotionally and psychologically challenged.
She was yet to come to terms with her son’s death and at times, she would watch pictures of him on her phone as she missed him.
In arriving at his sentence, Justice Brunett noted the aims of sentencing: retribution, deterrence, prevention and rehabilitation.
He said he would apply the sentencing principles for offenders under the age of 18 to the case.
The judge, citing the practice direction, said the primary purpose of sentencing minors or young persons is to encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and to promote reintegration into society rather than to punish.
The practice direction says a custodial sentence should always be a measure of last resort for minors and young persons, and may be imposed only when the offence is so serious that no other sanction would be appropriate.
In applying the sentencing guidelines, the judge formed the view that the facts of the case warrant a determinate sentence.
Starting point of life sentence
The judge set a starting point of 30 years’ imprisonment, a notional life sentence.
The aggravating features of the offence are that it was committed in full view of the public, that the attack was unprovoked, and that Spring committed the offence while on curfew.
There were no mitigating features of the offences.
The judge increased the sentence by three years.
The court saw no aggravating features of the offender, and the mitigating factors were his good character (lack of criminal record) and his prospects for rehabilitation.
The court therefore reduced the sentence by 5 years, bringing it to 28 years.
Spring was granted a full one-third discount for his guilty plea, reducing the sentence by 9 years and four months.
The court then deducted the two years, one month, and 17 days he spent on remand, reducing the sentence to 16 years, six months, and 13 days.
Justice Burnett noted that in accordance with the practice direction, the court should reduce the sentence to at most two-thirds of the term appropriate for an adult offender to reflect Spring’s youth and immaturity.
He therefore ordered Spring to spend 11 years in prison, rather than 16 years, six months and 13 days.