Man pleads guilty to killing MUST trainee

DEVON DUNCAN was sentenced to 14 years in jail on Friday for the 2007 killing of Daniel Moore.

However, after spending ten years and ten months awaiting trial, Duncan will only serve three years and two months more in jail before being released. The time already served has been deducted from his sentence.

Duncan was charged with Moore’s murder, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter before Justice Hayden St Clair Douglas in the San Fernando High Court. He was represented by attorneys Cedric Neptune and Marissa Bubb.

The State’s case, presented by attorney Trevor Jones, is that on August 24, 2007, Moore was a trainee with the Multi-Sector Skills Training (MUST) programme. He was on a job-site at Ibis Drive, Paria Gardens with other trainees building a house when Duncan and several others approached.

Jones said Duncan and his friends went to the house intending to fight. The two groups argued and a fight broke out.

When someone shouted, “Police coming,” Duncan and his friends started to leave, but on their way out, Duncan and another man saw Moore coming up the staircase. They approached him and kicked him down the staircase, where he landed on a middle platform. The two continued down the stairs, and as they were passing Moore, Duncan kicked him in the head.

Moore died at the San Fernando General Hospital on August 31 from head injuries and haemorrhaging due to blunt force trauma.

In making a plea in mitigation, Neptune told the court that Duncan had taken several self-betterment courses while awaiting trial. He said he was 18 years old when the incident happened and should not be considered beyond redemption.

He said Moore's death was not premeditated.

Both the State and the defence agreed that Duncan was not entitled to a full one third discount to his sentence for his guilty plea as he had not pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Jones said the State takes a negative view of that kind of violence and vigilante justice.

St Clair Douglas said an appropriate starting point for sentencing would be 20 years.

He discounted five years for Duncan’s guilty plea, and one year for the remedial courses Duncan had done while in jail.

He sentenced Duncan to 14 years in jail. From that sentence, the ten years and ten months Duncan spent awaiting trial was deducted.