35-year-old businessman Edward Reyes will spend the next seven years in jail for killing a man inside his butcher shop on January 22 of 2004. On March 10th, a jury convicted Reyes for the manslaughter of Norman "Butta" Ferguson. Today was sentencing day and Reyes, who owns Prime Meats Cut, paraded an all star cast of 10 character witnesses to plea for leniency. That list included former Commissioner of Police Ornel Brooks, musician Colville Young Jr., Kolbe Chairman John Woods, and the Managing Director of Brodies Curtis Musa.
Reyes's three attorneys Michel Chebat, Lutchman Sooknandan, and senior counsel Ellis Arnold had requested that Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh simply impose a fine on Reyes, but that didn't wash. Reyes's 7 year sentence is retroactive to March 10th when he was convicted and remanded on murder charges. Reyes claimed during the trial that he shot Ferguson in self-defense.
