Man jailed 8 years for robbing friend

“The home is no longer a place of safety,” lamented Justice Alice Yorke Soo-Hon yesterday as she sentenced El Socorro butcher Ashick Mohammed to eight years hard labour on a conviction of robbery with aggravation. Soo-Hon told Mohammed, who is also called “Goatman,” that he should be ashamed of  himself that a man of his age, 54, could be committing crime instead of leading the way and being a good exemplar for young people to follow. Mohammed and five other persons, armed with a gun and a cutlass, entered the home of his friend Devendranath Dhanraj and robbed him and his family of cash and jewelry in 1995. Justice Soo-Hon said families must be able to go to sleep at night without the fear of falling victim to this kind of experience. Recalling the midnight invasion of Dhanraj’s home, the judge told Mohammed that he and his gang had put Dhanraj, his wife Chanadai and their four children through a frightful ordeal that has left them traumatised.

She expressed regrets that Mohammed, whose parents had strong religious values, would choose to live a life of crime. She told him that his parents must be turning in their graves to see what a miscreant he had become. Before sentencing him, however, Justice Soo-Hon took into consideration all mitigating factors including the two years he had already spent in prison awaiting trial and the fact that his wife left him while he was in prison. These crimes are far too prevalent, she said, and the facts in this case are horrific. According to the facts, Mohammed was an acquaintance of the Dhanrajs and on several occasions over a seven-year period, he was a guest at their Las Lomas home where they had shared  lunch with him. On the night of October 22, 1995, Dhanraj, his wife and four children retired to bed at about 11.30 pm. Mohammed and five other persons forced their way into the house and confronted the couple and their children.

After the men ransacked the house, they made off with $800 in cash and some jewelry. During the ordeal, however, the jersey which Mohammed used to cover his face with slipped off and he was recognised. Mohammed was charged and prosecuted by State attorneys Prince Alexander, Angelica Teelucksingh and Jennifer Martin, while Nathaniel King defended him. He was found guilty on May 16, 2004, and a probation officer’s report was ordered by the judge. According to the report, Mohammed was a hard worker, not a trouble maker nor a source of concern in his community. He had two previous convictions, one for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and the other for larceny of cattle, but they occurred more than ten years ago and the judge did not take them into consideration when passing sentence.