Man pleads guilty to murder

Yesterday, one of the men involved in the act pleaded guilty to felony murder and two counts of robbery moments before he was expected to go on trial before a jury and Justice Devan Rampersad in the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court.

Christopher Lewis was re-arraigned and the foreperson of the jury was directed to return a guilty of felony murder verdict. He is expected to be sentenced when a probation officer’s report and other reports from the prison are completed. Appearing for the State was senior prosecutor Joy Balkaran while attorney Amarelle Francis represented Lewis in the capital matter. He is also represented by attorney Fulton Wilson in the robbery matters.

Felony murder is a classification of murder which no longer carries an automatic death sentence.

The rule empowers judges to bypass the mandatory death penalty for murder in lieu of a prison sentence in cases where a person kills another while committing another criminal offence. Sorias, 33, was found tied to a tree with wounds to his face.

He was chopped and stabbed. He was clad only in his underwear and socks and his white armless jersey was used to tie his arms around the tree trunk.

The young farmer left his home at the half mile mark on the By- Pass Road, Arima around 9 pm on Carnival Tuesday to go to Arima to buy a bottle of rum to celebrate his nephew’s birthday. When he did not return his brother Mervyn went in search of him and found his car parked along Sorzano Street with its stereo missing.

A report was made to the Arima police and at 9 am his body was found tied to the tree along a track.

His money was missing. Lewis claimed in a statement to police that he was with three other men when they abducted Sorias and took him to the track off Sorzano Street.

Lewis said he did not tell anyone because he was afraid for himself and his family. It was his interview notes, caution statement as well as Sorias’ blood found on his pants that implicated Lewis in the killing.