NYD jewel robbers get 37 years behind bars

(CNS): Three men convicted of a daylight jewel heist in George Town on New Year’s Day last year have been given jail terms of 15, 12 and 10 years for their separate parts in the $800,000 armed robbery, which was described by the judge as a professionally planned crime and a terrifying experience for the staff at Diamonds International.

Jonathan Ramoon (36), who carried the gun during the daylight hold-up and who has previous convictions for guns and violence, was handed a 19 year term for the robbery as well as a concurrent 14 years for possessing an unlicensed firearm, reduced to 15 and 12 years for his guilty pleas.

Meanwhile, James McLean (23), the youngest of the three men convicted in the case, was handed 16 years, despite having no previous convictions of violence or robbery. His part in the robbery was to smash the cabinets with a hammer but he was also given an eight year term for the possession of an unlicensed firearm as part of the joint enterprise. His sentences were also cut by around 20% for his guilty plea to 12 and seven years, which will run together.

Christopher Myles (32), who admitted to being the getaway driver and pleaded guilty to robbery but not possession of a weapon, was given a 15 year term, which was reduced to ten. He, too, has previous convictions of violence but no weapons or robbery offences on his rap sheet.

Although all three men were given some discount for their admission, they were not given the maximum allowed under the law of 33.3% as the judge said the men were caught red-handed and did not make pleas at the earliest possible moment. Handing down his sentence on Monday morning, Justice Charles Quin outlined the background to the sentences he passed, based on both local and UK sentencing guidelines as well as Court of Appeal decisions on similar offences. The judge said he believed the robbery was a professionally planned heist with many aggravating factors and few mitigating ones.

Despite the remorse expressed by the men in connection with their convictions, he raised his concern about how genuinely remorseful the men were when a fourth man involved in the heist has never been caught. None of the convicted men assisted in identifying the fourth robber or the recovery of the jewels that robber escaped with.

Justice Quin said professional robberies such as this, which he described as a “most violent robbery”, not only have a serious impact on the victims but on the tourism sector as a whole, as he spoke about news of this daylight jewellery store hold up in the heart of downtown George Town spreading like wildfire among visitors. He said it was a “sad state of affairs”  that this type of violent crime had been on the increase over the last five to six years and was influencing tourism.

He said he felt that the robbery demonstrated a sophisticated degree of planning, despite claims by the defence that it was a botched job thought up during a drink- and drug-fueled New Year’s Eve binge.

Justice Quin pointed to the loaded Smith and Western used during the heist, the specific roles of each robber had, as well as the masks and, in the case of McLean, a pillow pushed under his clothes, which were all meant to disguise their appearance. The terror suffered by the victims was increased because it was carried out by a group of criminals. The security guard at the jewellery store was threatened and held down by Ramoon at gunpoint for some 86 seconds and was injured when he was dragged across a floor strewn with broken glass and threatened.

The CCTV evidence showed the terror suffered by the young female staff members, one of whom was pregnant. The store opened to customers coming off the cruise ships on that busy holiday morning just minutes before the three armed masked men ran in and began the frightening ordeal.

Despite social enquiry reports reflecting difficult lives for all three men, plagued by abuse, violence and addiction, with early offending a common factor among them, the judge saw little mitigation and highlighted many aggravating factors that resulted in the significant jail terms. He did, however, point to efforts at rehabilitation that the men have undergone at the prison and the letters of apology written to the courts, the victims and the Cayman Islands.

Speaking about the police commissioner, who happened to be off duty and parked just by the store when the heist took place, the judge commended his quick action when he crashed his own vehicle into the robbers’ getaway car. When the villains managed to get out of the car, he continued after them in his car running completely over Ramoon, who sustained significant serious injuries. The judge also commended a security officer and two members of the public, who were injured when they also gave chase and wrestled the other robbers to the ground as they waited for the police to arrive.

The judge urged the public to help the police combat crime, noting that this type of robbery gives the impression that the country is losing the fight. Although more than $800,000 worth of jewels were recovered from the men at the time of their arrest, he reminded the public that three rings valued at over $3000 were still missing as they had been taken by the fourth man, who, he said, was still unfortunately at large.