Jermaine Maynard, 48, who was sentenced to 88 years’ imprisonment for the 2013 murder of his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, has filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence, deeming the sentence severe.
Following a trial before Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court, Maynard was found guilty of murder by a mixed 12-member jury.
The court heard that he murdered Carlissa Matthews between December 31, 2013, and January 1, 2014, at Croal Street, Georgetown.
Not satisfied with the ruling, Maynard is now asking the Court of Appeal to set aside and/or reverse his conviction and sentence.
Among other things, Maynard is contending that the trial judge made several errors in law when summing up the evidence to the jury.
The murder convict further argued that the 88-year-old jail sentence is manifestly excessive. The appeal comes up for hearing on February 1.
Guyana Standard understands that Matthews and Maynard had shared a relationship which ended several months before the murder.
On December 31, 2013, at about 21:00 hrs, Matthews, along with her mother and stepfather, were standing outside KFC in the Stabroek Market area.
Maynard had reportedly requested a private audience with Matthews, but she refused. Moments later, Maynard pulled out a gun and shot her in the head.
Matthews was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where she succumbed to her injuries around 02:15 hrs on January 1, 2014.
Maynard fled the scene after the shooting but was nabbed at the ‘backtrack’ crossing at Springlands, Corentyne on January 2, as he was about to board a boat to Nickerie, Suriname.
