Boat operator gets 75 years for murdering Brazilian miner
Kaieteur News – Oneal Griffith, a boat operator from Linden, Region 10, was yesterday sentenced to 75 years in prison for murdering Brazilian miner Braz Alves Dos Santos. The sentence was handed down by Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court in Essequibo, after Griffith was unanimously convicted of the offense by a 12-member mixed jury.
75 years imprisonment for murder: Oneal Griffith.
According to the charge, Griffith murdered Dos Santos during a robbery, which occurred on December 30, 2015, at his Puruni mining camp, Mazaruni.
Following the ruling, Griffith told the court he was innocent of the crime. “I’m an innocent man. The State brought a case against me that I know nothing about, ”he said.
In her address to the Court before sentencing, State prosecutor Tiffani Lyken asked the court to consider in the ruling the fact that a weapon had been used in the commission of the crime and that Griffith showed no remorse for his actions .
On the other hand, defense attorney Ravindra Mohabir noted in his mitigation plea that this is the first time his client has had any brush with the law.
The lawyer stated that Griffith came from a settled home circle, was a married man and had two children.
Following the consideration, Justice Singh sentenced Griffith to serve 75 years in prison.
The Judge noted that Griffith will only have the possibility of parole after serving 50 years. Justice Singh also ordered that prison authorities deduct the time Griffith spent in pre-trial custody from sentence.
According to reports, on December 30, 2015, Dos Santos was working at a mining camp when Griffith caught him and another Brazilian at gunpoint. Trouble was reported when Dos Santos was shot to his neck.
After killing the miner, Griffith allegedly escaped with a quantity of raw gold, a boat and an engine. However, he was trapped in Itaballi. The stolen ship and some of the gold were recovered.
He was reported to have removed the shotgun, but was identified positively by one of the victims. Earlier that day, Griffith had robbed several Brazilians in a mining camp but pulled out a gun and shot Dos Santos.