Mayreau man jailed for 17 years for murder of security guard

A MAN from Mayreau will serve 17 years in prison after he confessed to taking turns with other men to stab a security guard in his neck with a knife, killing him.

Jerome Ollivierre appeared at the High Court before Justice Brian Cottle where he pleaded guilty, that between August 31, and September 1, 2018, he entered the premises of GEC Auto Supplies Ltd at Arnos Vale as a trespasser and stole $2,000.80 in cash, the property of Gevandean Wilson of Villa/United States of America; and that he murdered Rodney George of Victoria Village.

The facts are that on the morning of August 30, 2018, GEC Auto Supplies opened for business. Sometime after 6 p.m, employees secured the building and left for home. George, 50, arrived sometime later to work as a security guard.

The following morning, an employee arrived for work, opened the building and discovered that it was ransacked and there was a hole in the roof, and that EC$2000.80 had been stolen. George’s lifeless body was also discovered in a locked bathroom. His throat appeared to be cut, and his hands and feet were bound with duct tape.The matter was reported to the police who investigated.

On September 30, 2018, Olliverre spoke to his childhood friend, Adrian Forde, a member of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) and told him that he had killed a man in St Vincent.

Forde thought Olliverre was joking. However, on October 1, 2018, Olliverre again repeated the matter to Forde; Ollivierre was then taken into custody and was later interviewed by the police. In his initial interview, Ollivierre denied any involvement in the crime. However, he requested a second interview during which he indicated that he and others went to GEC Auto Supplies Limited where they met and restrained George. He and two other men then took turns to “chook” the deceased in his neck with a knife.

A postmortem examination later revealed that George died from multiple stab wounds. Justice Brian Cottle began sentencing at 40 years imprisonment.

He also considered that this was a group attack.

However, Olliverre cooperated with the police and confessed his role in the commission of the murder.

Cottle added that Olliverre is a good candidate for rehabilitation. He found that the mitigating and aggravating factors did not outweigh each other, and so he did not adjust the sentence.

Olliverre was granted a one-third discount for pleading guilty, resulting in a sentence of 26 years and eight months on the murder charge. He had already spent five years, nine months and 27 days on remand. Therefore, Olliverre was sentenced to serve the remaining 20 years, 10 months and three days in prison. Considering the sentence for the offence of burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment, Cottle noted that the offence had detrimental effects on the business; it resulted in death, and a weapon was used. He added that George was restrained in the process; the offence was committed by a group of people; and substantial violence was used in the commission of the crime.

The judge began sentencing at 10 years and six months in prison. He considered that Olliverre was equipped with tools that allowed him to cut through the roof, and that a vehicle was used as a getaway. Cottle further considered that the offence was committed at night, and that Olliverre confessed his crime to the police, and expressed remorse.

The judge did not adjust the sentence, but offered Olliverre a one-third discount for pleading guilty to the offence, resulting in a sentence of seven years, and one month.Time spent on remand was deducted, so Olliverre will serve a remainder of one year, three months, and three days in prison. Cottle further deducted three years from Olliverre’s 20 year sentence for murder because of the confession made, so Ollivierre will serve a remainder of 17 years, 10 months ,and three days in prison. The sentences will run concurrently.