Couva man sentenced in kidnap case in first trial under new law

A Couva man has received concurrent sentences for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and the larceny of her car in January.

Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds sentenced Sheldon Doodnath on July 29 to nine years, 11 months and 20 days for kidnapping and 7 years, 11 months and 20 days for larceny, all with hard labour.

The judge also ordered a 15-year protection order under the Domestic Violence Act which includes the duration of his prison sentence. If he or the victim wishes to reconcile or co-parent, they can apply for a variation or revocation of the order, as they have a three-year-old child together.

“The court has to recognise the vulnerability of the victim,” the judge said.

Doodnath’s case was the first indictable case to proceed to trial under the new Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, 2011 (as amended) or AJIPA legislation.

He first appeared before Ramsumair-Hinds on April 30, four months after he was charged, three months after an indictment was filed and two weeks after a High Court Master completed a sufficiency hearing.

The new legislation, proclaimed on December 12, 2023, removes preliminary inquiries for indictable offences, such as murder, kidnapping, money laundering and some forms of sexual abuse, at the magistrates’ courts (now known as district courts).

Under AJIPA, indictable matters go straight to the High Court. The legislation also introduces sufficiency hearings heard by a master, who ensures a case is ready for the trial stage.

A nine-member jury found Doodnath guilty on July 24.

Days earlier, on July 21, the judge revoked his bail after his victim reported he had assaulted her at her home.

The judge’s ruling referred to the victim by her initials in to “afford her some anonymity.”

On the day of the incident on January 3, the victim had just returned to her home in Gasparillo when Doodnath accosted and threatened her and forced her back into her car. In fear, she jumped out of the car with her son, three.

Doodnath drove off and did not stop. The victim never saw the car again. Days later its burnt shell was found in Carolina Village by police.

Doodnath, who testified at the trial at the O’Meara Judicial Centre in Arima, claimed he had gone to his victim’s home to drop off money and visit their child.

He claimed they were in her car when a crowd approached him aggressively and he drove off, as he was afraid. He said he intended to make a block before returning for his van, but while he was driving along a bad patch of road, the woman grabbed the child and jumped out.

He and his father went to the Gasparillo police station on January 7, where he was arrested.

He said he tried to tell the police his version of what happened, but they kept accusing him of lying. He also accused the police of making inappropriate comments and rushing him to sign a statement.

The judge said the jury, by their verdict, rejected his defences of denial and fabrication.

In sentencing Doodnath, she urged him to use his time in prison to learn temperance, restraint and boundaries. She warned that if he did not manage these properly, the past would likely repeat itself, urging him to use the prison programmes to complete his education.

“Punishment must, at all times, meet the justice of the crime. A custodial term meets the justice of the case and the just desert is for him to serve the entirety of the terms I have imposed. Society must have its pound of flesh.”

Ramsumair-Hinds said the case highlighted the significant potential for change to the criminal justice landscape in TT with the application of AJIPA and the criminal procedure rules

She also said the case demonstrated the realisation of some of the key goals of Needham’s Point Declaration (NPD) on criminal justice reform adopted by several regional countries at the Caribbean Court of Justice Academy in 2023.

The NPD seeks to achieve a modern criminal justice system and contains 39 recommendations for reform. One of its goals is speedier trials, setting timelines for indictable and summary offences. It recommends that during the transitional stage to the ideal, trials should be held within two-three years after charges have been laid for indictable offences and 12 months for summary offences, moving to one year and six months respectively.

“This case demonstrates the realisation of those aspirational goals,” Ramsumair-Hinds acknowledged.

She also noted that judges on the criminal bench were focusing on adopting strategies to ease the backlog in the system. However, she urged that a mindful approach be taken so new indictments are not sent to the bottom of the queue, as this, she said, would only serve to perpetuate lengthy delays.

“We cannot allow new matters to grow old,” she said, she also noting that in this case, she did not have to give a “delay direction” to the jury, who heard evidence from witnesses months after the incident took place.

Doodnath was represented by Brian Baig, Charmaine Samuel and Guliana Guy prosecuted for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.