By Jada Chambers
Two men who tied up security guards at Bethel High School and beat them at gunpoint in October 2022 have been jailed for their crimes and ordered to undergo years of counselling.
Justice Rickie Burnett sentenced the men, Gevonni Joseph and Marco Noel, to more than 12 years in prison at the High Court in Kingstown on Monday on one count of aggravated burglary, one count of firearm possession and two counts of wounding.
The offences were committed on Oct. 20, 2022, at Bethel High School in Campden Park, and a nine-member jury recently returned a guilty verdict at the end of the trial.
The jury returned a not guilty verdict on the wounding with intent charge but convicted the men of the lesser charge of wounding.
The facts, as presented by the court, are that Joseph and Noel met and agreed to enter Bethel High School to steal.
They dressed in black, wore masks, and carried a gun.
The men climbed over the fence and entered the building through a window.
Two security guards were working in the auditorium. They were using their electronic devices when they heard a sound.
One of the guards, whom Justice Burnett identified by his initials, JW, to conceal his identity, investigated the sound but saw nothing.
The other guard, whose initials are AR, dismissed the sound as noise from a Chubby bottle.
An assailant struck JW on his right ear, causing him to lose consciousness. The intruders beat and questioned him about the location of the keys to the principal’s office.
JW said he did not have the keys. The intruders poked a piece of cloth and a gun into his mouth.
Three assailants attacked JW. One man left to locate AR, after being ordered to “f- him up”.
AR felt a touch, then a blow to his forehead, and someone trying to fight him to the ground. An assailant pointed a firearm at AR and asked him if he wanted to die.
The attackers bound JW’s hands and feet, leaving both men bleeding. After they left, AR untied his colleague, climbed the bathroom stalls and escaped.
JW untied his feet and looked for the keys to unlock the gate. Police met them, and AR fainted.
They were both taken to receive medical treatment and the assailants were later arrested and charged with aggravated burglary.
In a victim impact statement, AR said that he feels pain and sustained a scar from the incident.
He experiences a flood of emotions whenever he thinks about the incident.
AR also said that he is extremely cautious and fearful that he might be attacked again and that he no longer works at night.
In JW’s victim impact statement, he said that he experienced emotional trauma and psychological distress.
He also sustained a scar and injury to his eardrums, which resulted in him not being able to hear clearly.
JW also experienced dizziness and pressure to his forehead. He now spends most of his time at home and has become hypervigilant.
The victim also said he has become angry, fearful and distressed.
Since the incident, he said he has gone down a “very dark path” of smoking and drinking excessively to numb the emotional pain.
He has stopped working as a security officer.
The maximum sentence for this crime is life imprisonment or 30 years in jail.
Justice Burnett began sentencing at 15 years, which is 50% of the maximum sentence.
He identified aggravating factors such as the offence being committed at night and the men being equipped for the offence.
There were no mitigating factors of the offence. The aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. Therefore, the judge added two years to the sentence.
Justice Burnett also found no aggravating factors for the offender. The mitigating factors were that they were of good character and they were relatively young at the time of the incident.
The mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors, so the court deducted four years from their sentence, resulting in a 13-year prison sentence.
However, Joseph had spent three months and nine days on remand, while Noel had already spent three months and 16 days on remand.
After these times were deducted from their sentences, Joseph was given a final sentence of 12 years, eight months and 28 days, while Noel will spend the next 12 years, eight months and 14 days in prison.
For the firearm offence, Justice Burnett considered factors such as the crime being committed as a group activity and began sentencing at five years and three months, which is 75% of the seven-year maximum sentence.
Justice Burnett then weighed the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offence and the offender, and deducted the time spent on remand.
He then sentenced Joseph Joseph to two years, 11 months and 21 days, and sentenced Noel to two years, 11 months and 14 days.
As for the wounding counts, Burnett began sentencing at eight years and five months, which is 60% of the maximum sentence, 14 years.
He found no aggravating or mitigating factors in the offence, and no aggravating factors in the offender.
Mitigating factors were that they were of good character, having never been convicted of a criminal offence, and they were young.
After time spent on remand was deducted from their sentence, Joseph was sentenced to four years, one month and 21 days, while Noel was sentenced to four years, one month, and 14 days for each count of wounding.
All sentences will run concurrently, meaning the men will serve only the longest sentence in prison: 12 years, 8 months, and 28 days for Joseph, while Noel will serve 12 years, 8 months, and 14 days.
They were also ordered to spend five years in counselling.