Bourda Market handyman Quincy “Fix It” Henry, who reportedly stabbed a man for refusing to give him G$100 which he had requested, was on Monday sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment by Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Demerara High Court.
The prosecution’s case was that on September 20, 2015, somewhere around the Merriman’s Mall at Bourda, Georgetown, someone asked Troy Bacchus, known as “Fletcher,” for a G$100; and seeing this, “Fix It” also requested the same sum, but Bacchus refused his request. This angered Henry, who stabbed Bacchus once to the neck.
Two weeks ago, an unrepresented Henry pleaded guilty to the charge just when his trial was set to begin. In a lengthy explanation before sentencing on Monday, he admitted to stabbing Bacchus, but claimed it was done in self-defence, and said the victim had attacked him with a ‘2×4’ piece of wood.
Henry said he was gambling on the day in question, and had an exchange of words with Bacchus. The victim was present in court, and was seen sobbing at various intervals. “Fix It” further stated that Bacchus was hammering him, but left the scene when he saw Henry with a knife. He claimed that it was sometime after this that Bacchus returned with the piece of wood and started hitting at him.
“He was being very aggressive to me although I said to him that I didn’t want no story…I try to take the wood, and I fire a jook to he neck,” the offender told the court.
After relating his story with near perfect subject and verb agreement, and using many adjectives, Justice Reynolds said Henry was a waste of a good human being, and that he was a victim of his circumstances.
A probation report read by Probation Officer Anand Sharma revealed that Henry’s parents separated and migrated individually to the Caribbean. As a child, “Fix It” lived in Barbados with his mother, but was deported after his sister reported his abuse of cocaine to the authorities. After his return in 2009, he continued using the prohibited drug, did odd jobs, and lived around Bourda Market. Henry developed problems with hearing over time.
The State’s case was presented by Attorney Tiffini Lyken.
