GIORDANO Rolle and Dimitri Rolle pictured outside court in 2014.
By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
A MAN has been spared the death penalty for murdering another man in his Family Island home during the course of an armed robbery four years ago.
Instead, Justice Carolita Bethel sentenced Giordano Rolle to 30 years behind bars for murdering Dwayne Finnekan in Exuma on February 18, 2014.
Rolle was further sentenced to 15 years for armed robbery; both sentences are to run concurrently, minus the three years he was on remand.
His co-accused, Demetri Rolle, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter, and 15 years for armed robbery to run concurrently, minus the three years he was on remand.
Their sentences were handed down more than a year and a half after they were convicted in connection with Finnekan’s death.
On March 10, 2017, following a trial by jury over the crimes in question, Giordano Rolle was convicted of murder and armed robbery, while Demetri Rolle was convicted of manslaughter and armed robbery.
According to previous reports, on the date in question, Finneken, also known as Dwayne Nixon, was at home with another man when two men armed with firearms entered the residence.
The two convicts, while armed with a handgun and a shotgun, subsequently robbed Finnekan of cash, a gold necklace and a hand chain.
One of the men shot the victim, resulting in his death, before they fled on foot. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by the island’s local doctor.
According to court testimony, Finneken was lying face down on the bed when he was shot in the back. The one person who was in a position to assist him in any way was being held at gunpoint by Demetri Rolle in the front room.
In his record of interview, Demetri Rolle said a man named “American” had sent the pair to the victim’s house to “take the drugs and money…”
When asked if it was he who shot and killed Finnekan, aka “Yardy,” and not Giordano Rolle or another individual, Demetri Rolle said: “It was Gio, sir, not me.”
David Cash represented Giordano Rolle during trial, while Sonia Timothy represented Demetri Rolle.
Al-Leecia Delancy, who had previously called for Giordano Rolle to be sentenced to death, represented the Crown.
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