(REALNEWS)Kenworth Charles of Newfield has been sentenced to 16 years in
prison for murder. However, the three years he spent on remand,
awaiting trial and sentencing, are to be deducted, leaving him 13
years to serve.
High Court Justice Colin Williams handed down the sentence on
Monday, July 24, after several delays.
Charles, a former IT technician at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre,
was accused of killing an ex-soldier, Fitzroy Robins of The Point, on
July 24, 2020, during an altercation at a bar on Bay Street, Villa.
Following a trial in February this year, a jury of Charles’ peers found
him guilty of the capital offence.
He was defended by attorney Wendel Robinson, who, earlier, had
alluded to a defence of accidental death, since Charles allegedly had
been intoxicated at the time and did not intend to kill Robins.
However, the accused reportedly had stabbed the deceased with a
knife – not once, but multiple times about the body.
During his sentence hearing, Charles, a father of two, reportedly
expressed sincere remorse over what he had done, saying he wished
Robins were alive to see the real person he is.
Those who know Charles describe him as very kind and a hard
worker, with 150 hospital staff signing a petition that begged the
court for leniency on his behalf.
According to reports, Charles and Robins had had an earlier
encounter at a bar, where Robins had to force Charles to pay for
beers he had taken from a woman’s cooler.
Reportedly, Robins had approached Charles with a knife and asked
him to settle the bill, which, eventually, he did.
Charles did not return to the bar for a while. However, when he and
Robins ran into each other for a second time at the same place, the
pair got into an altercation.
During the argument a struggle ensued and Robins was stabbed.
