BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE four men found guilty of kidnapping Larry Vaughan and his wife Gilda have been handed a heavy penalty for their crime.
Appearing before His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas for sentencing today (Feb. 19), Jahmana ‘Sky Juice’ Walters, Ali ‘Humble’ Percival, Clayton ‘Yellow’ Laws and Jermaine ‘Reckin’ Riley were given 50 years each on two counts of kidnapping.
They were found guilty on February 7 of taking the Vaughans from their home on October 28, 2011 and demanding money from them in the amount of one million dollars which they wanted Larry to take from a bank's vault.
The men, before being sentenced, still made claims of being innocent and begged the Court for leniency, stating that they had family members who depended on them and wanted the opportunity to care for them.
They also called a number of persons to speak on their behalf, all of whom stated that the men grew up in good homes, went to church regularly when growing up and was raised to be respectable individuals.
They also asked the Court to be merciful towards the young men.
Justice Thomas read each convict's Social Inquiry Report (SIR) before passing judgment.
Walters was described as a young man from simple upbringing who did not have a strong educational background. It stated that he was brought up right but chose to follow the wrong crowd and have over the years offended the law.
Percival's SIR stated that he is one who has shown to be a hostile young man with no intention of changing his ways. It also said that his family expressed disappointment and shame towards this latest crime.
Laws, in his SIR, was described as one who has always been gainfully employed and does not show hostility. It explained that he obviously loves his three children and cares deeply for his family, but his criminal act contradicted his personality.
Riley's SIR said that he was not raised lacking love from his family. It said he was brought up among elderly persons who aimed to depart their knowledge on him, but he failed to adhere to those teachings.
Justice Thomas told the convicts that there were no mitigating factors to consider with regards to their punishment.
He said the fact that they grew up attending church did not matter to them, only money, which was their aim on the night they committed the crime.
The judge said that kidnapping is a very serious offence which had no place in the Federation.
"What was alarming is that you four men wanted a bank vault opened at 1:00 a.m. because you wanted $1M," he said.
Justice Thomas then told the four young men that they would be serving 25 years for each count of kidnapping which would run concurrently.
He said: "You would each serve 25 years. The time you spent on remand would be deducted from your sentence. End of story!"
