Manzanilla man guilty of manslaughter

Prakash Jawahir, 27, was on trial before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas, charged with the murder of Steven Thomas, of Mulchan Street, on Easter Sunday April 12, 2009, at Manzanilla Main Road, near the 11-1/4 mile mark.

Although indicted for murder, the jury which deliberated on Thursday returned just after 6 pm with a verdict for the lesser count of manslaughter.

According to the prosecution’s case, Jawahir chopped Thomas four times with a cutlass, almost severing one of his arms on the Manzanilla Main Road, just after 7 pm that night.

Jawahir was intoxicated at the time of the event, and witnesses described his state on the night as “his head was real bad.” Jawahir, who was defended by attorneys Michelle Solomon and Trevor Clarke, never disputed that he chopped Thomas, telling police at the time that he did so to help out his cousin who was being beaten by Thomas before the chopping incident took place.

He had also admitted to having threatened to planass Thomas with a cutlass. According to Jawahir’s defence, he saw his cousin being beaten by Thomas with a four-foot long “junk” of wood which led to the relative receiving wounds to his head, blood in the anterior chamber of his eye and a fracture to his eye socket. One of Thomas’ friends was also involved in the beating incident.

It was at this point Jawahir intervened and chopped Thomas.

Jawahir will be sentenced by Justice St Clair-Douglas on November 29.

The prosecution was represented by attorney Stacy Lalloo Chong.