Manzanilla man sentenced for role in 2014 killing of sawmill owner

A Manzanilla man has been sentenced to over six years in prison for his role in the killing of sawmill owner John Ramoutar in 2014.

Arnold Ashton was sentenced on June 6 after pleading guilty to felony murder as part of a plea deal with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He appeared before Justice Gail Gonzales.

The judge began with a 27-year prison sentence, but after giving credit for Ashton’s guilty plea and time already spent in custody, he was left with a final sentence of six years, five months, and 17 days of hard labour.

Ashton had been in custody for almost 11 years. His co-accused, Leonelle Clement, was sentenced in November 2024. Ashton was represented by public defenders Shaun Morris and Janiel Chuck.

According to the evidence, on July 22, 2014, 62-year-old John Ramoutar left his home around 4 pm to tend to his animals near Boynes Trace, Manzanilla. He and his family owned a sawmill.

Around 5.41 pm, Ramoutar’s daughter-in-law called his phone. A man answered, and she heard him say, “Oh God, oh God, allyuh,” in a pained voice. She became concerned and told her husband to go look for him.

She called the phone again, and a man answered again, saying Ramoutar owed them money and warned her not to call back. Ramoutar’s son, Richard, also called and was told his father owed $200,000. When he asked where to drop the money, the caller said they would speak the next day and hung up.

That night, Richard and other workers searched the area. They found Ramoutar’s pickup but not him. Police were called, and soon after, Ashton and Clement were arrested.

Both men gave statements to police. Clement said they kidnapped Ramoutar near a swamp. Ashton confirmed they planned to ask for a ransom of $400,000. They tied Ramoutar up and dragged him into the bushes. After demanding money, Ramoutar began to cry out in distress. They kicked him and took him deeper into the forest. Ashton said Clement told him to kill Ramoutar. Ashton then pushed Ramoutar’s head into a pool of water and held it down several times until he stopped moving. They left his body in the water and escaped through the bush.

When arrested, Clement showed police where they had left Ramoutar’s body. Ashton led officers to where he had hidden weapons and items taken from the victim, including cutlasses, a leather belt, and gloves. A post-mortem later showed Ramoutar died from a fractured neck.