Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
THE TWO men who pleaded guilty two years ago to the murder of retired Superintendent of Police Albert Richards had their sentences reduced on Tuesday by the Court of Appeal.
Omar Creary, 25, mechanic of August Town, St. Andrew, and Triston Thompson, 21, shopkeeper of Whitehall Avenue, St. Andrew, had pleaded guilty in the Home Circuit Court in January 2004.
Creary was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole, while Thompson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that
he serve 25 years before being eligible parole.
APPEALED SENTENCES
They appealed on the grounds that their sentences were manifestly excessive. The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that Creary should serve 25 years before parole while Thompson should serve 20 years before parole.
The third man who was charged with Richards' murder appealed against his conviction and sentence but lost the appeal.
He is Charles Bartlett, 51, taxi driver of 1 Escarpment Road, Mona, St. Andrew, who was convicted in January 2004 of the murder. Mr. Justice Lloyd Hibbert sentenced him to life imprisonment and recommended that he serve 25 years before parole.
Richards, who operated the National Gas Station at Palmoral Avenue in Mona, St. Andrew, was shot dead during a robbery attempt in January 2003.
During the robbery a licensed firearm holder shot Creary who was armed with a firearm. The gun was taken from Creary and he was handed over to the police. Bartlett had driven the getaway car.
