By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A TEEN, who admitted his guilt to the fatal shooting of a man 10 years his senior, will spend the next 15 years in jail receiving counselling in anger management.
Donovan Burrell did not wish to go through a trial in which he faced a murder charge for the death of Gregory Miller Jr in 2013. Before the case could begin, his lawyer Terrel Butler indicated that her client wished to take a certain course of action and wished for the charge to be re-read to him.
When the murder charge and particulars were read for the second time yesterday, the 18-year-old defendant pleaded “not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.”
Having regard to prior legal discussions held in the jury’s absence, Crown prosecutor Vernal Collie accepted Burrell’s guilty plea to manslaughter by provocation.
Justice Indra Charles directed the jury to acquit Burrell of murder and to convict him of manslaughter, which they did.
Miller, 26, of Nassau Village, was outside the bar shortly before 2am on April 20 when he was approached and shot in the stomach by Burrell.
Miller drove himself to the Wulff Road Police Station and was subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance and died two weeks later on May 4.
Burrell, 16, at the time, was arrested and charged with murder a little more than a week after Miller’s death.
Miller and Burrell reportedly had a physical altercation and multiple arguments in the past prior to the shooting.
Ms Butler yesterday asked the court to be as lenient as possible with her client bearing in mind his age and that he had no prior brushes with the law until the incident in question.
Justice Charles then addressed Burrell: “The court has taken into consideration your age and that you have chosen to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity and I believe this is your first offence.”
“Had it gone to trial and you were convicted, you certainly would have gotten a higher sentence as the range of sentencing for manslaughter in this jurisdiction is 18-30 years.”
The judge sentenced him to 18 years imprisonment and reduced this to 15 years after taking into consideration his years spent on remand. His sentence begins from date of conviction.
“It appears to me that you get angry very easily so what I’ve done is to make an order for you to seek counselling in anger management which shall help you to be a better person when you get out,” the judge added.
“Yes, ma’am,” Burrell replied.
Police allowed the teen a moment to speak with his grandmother and aunt before taking him away to a holding cell to await transport to Her Majesty’s Prison.
If convicted at trial on the charge of murder, Burrell would have faced between 30 to 60 years imprisonment.
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