Justice Served: Bartica Man Sentenced to Thirteen Years for 2007 Manslaughter

Justice Served: Bartica Man Sentenced to Thirteen Years for 2007 Manslaughter

Guyana Times Reports. Eighteen years after the brutal killing of a gold miner in the Arimu Backdam, a Bartica man who was deported from France has been sentenced to thirteen years in prison for the crime.

Michael O’lando Corrica, 44, formerly of Lot 02 Fourth Avenue, Bartica, Essequibo River, appeared before Justice Navindra Singh at the High Court on April 29, where he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The case, prosecuted by State Counsel Cicelia Henry, stemmed from the February 2007 death of Oswald Joris, also known as “Buns,” a miner from First Avenue, Bartica. Reports presented in court revealed that Corrica operated a shop in the Arimu area where Joris worked. The two men, who were known to each other, became embroiled in a heated argument, during which Corrica armed himself with a cutlass and fatally chopped Joris multiple times.

Following the attack, Corrica fled the country and managed to evade capture for over sixteen years before being deported from France and arrested upon his arrival in Guyana. He was arraigned in June 2023 before Magistrate Esther Sam and remanded to prison pending trial in the High Court.

During the sentencing hearing this week, Justice Singh began with a base sentence of thirty years. Due to Corrica’s early guilty plea, the court deducted ten years from the starting sentence. An additional five years were removed after considering a probation report by Von Venture and a prison conduct report, both of which reflected positively on Corrica’s behavior and rehabilitation prospects.

Corrica was also credited with a four-year reduction for expressing genuine remorse during his plea in mitigation, presented by Defence Counsel Latchmie Dindyal. However, Justice Singh added two years to the sentence after reviewing a victim impact statement prepared by S. Davis, which detailed the psychological trauma and long-term emotional suffering endured by Joris’s family following the killing.

Taking all factors into account, the court imposed a final sentence of thirteen years imprisonment, with the time Corrica has already spent in custody since his 2023 arrest deducted from the overall sentence. This sentencing brings closure to a case that had remained unresolved for nearly two decades, offering some measure of justice to the family of Oswald Joris, who had long awaited resolution for their loved one’s death.

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