By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN who admitted trying to kill his ex-girlfriend with a knife outside her Sea Breeze home in 2022 was sentenced to ten years in prison yesterday.
Jermaine Laing, 27, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at the outset of his trial and appeared before Justice Jeannine Weech-Gomez for sentencing.
Justice Weech-Gomez cited as aggravating factors that Laing brought two knives to the house that night and aimed for the woman's throat.
In mitigation, she credited Laing's remorse and the fact that he enrolled in anger management classes of his own accord while on bail, which the court took as a sign he could be rehabilitated. She also cited his clean record, strong family support, his cooperation with police from the start and the fact that his plea spared the woman and her family a trial. She said Laing was 23 at the time and that the woman suffered only a cut to her finger, with no long-term injuries.
A probation officer told an earlier sentencing hearing that around 9pm on April 24, 2022, Laing overheard the 32-year-old woman on the phone with a male friend. Laing confronted her and claimed the friend was the reason they had broken up.
He lunged at her throat with a knife, but she avoided the blow. During the struggle that followed, her sister intervened and hit Laing with a bucket. The woman was stabbed in the left hand, an injury that later needed stitches. Laing reportedly wriggled out of his shirt and escaped, and police later recovered the knife.
The probation officer said Laing contacted the woman after the stabbing to apologise and begged her not to die. He later texted her to say he hoped she would die. He then tried to save the relationship, but she told him it was over.
People who knew Laing described him as quiet, reserved, articulate, smart and kind, and said they were shocked when they learned of the charge. They asked the court for leniency, saying prison would cause him to deteriorate. The woman did not say what sentence she wanted, but her sister recommended prison.
After passing sentence, Justice Weech-Gomez called it a difficult decision and said she felt bad doing it. She wished Laing the best, and he thanked her. Before he was taken into custody, Laing was allowed a moment alone with his mother.
The three months Laing spent on remand will count towards his sentence. The sentence began yesterday because he had been on bail until judgment. He will be able to continue psychiatric help in prison if he chooses.
Damian White represented Laing. Davina Pinder and Valentino Bowe prosecuted.
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