At the sentencing hearing on the 12th March, 2024 Ronnie Leslie was at the mercy of the court and received a non-custodial sentence for the offence of causing grevious bodily harm with intent.
The Criminal Judge, Justice Colin Williams in his judgment indicated a starting point of six (6) years which was eventually adjusted because of the overwhelming amount of mitigating factors of the offence including but not limited to the incident being an isolated one, there was significant provocation by the Complainant, there was no premeditation and the offender got a single chop wound to the ankle. Mitigating factors of the offender was also taken into consideration such as genuine remorse, no previous convictions and good character. As it relates to the mitigating factors for the offence and the offender, the sentence was adjusted by 18 months each.
After the deduction, the sentence was brought to a balance of three years. The judge also noted that grevious bodily harm offenses are prevalent in the commonwealth Caribbean.
Further, despite the request of the complainant for an order of compensation, the judge did not provide one as there was no evidence to indicate what compensation is needed nor does the offender have any means to satisfy an order of compensation. The judge also noted that the matter took seven years to prosecute and that in itself is an inexcusable delay.
The sentence of the court was a three year sentence suspended for three (3) years, a supervision order where he had to report to the probation officer Anestin Baron. Lastly, he was bonded for $40,000 to keep the peace.
