Former guard slapped with 21-yr sentence for killing three ex-colleagues

A former security guard, who was employed to the Guardsman Group, will have to spend two decades more behind bars for killing three of his ex-colleagues, including two women, in a gruesome triple murder that made national headlines over a decade ago.

Kevon Smith, who has been in custody since the 2012 killings, was sentenced on Thursday to 21 years in prison on each count of a seven-count indictment after he pleaded guilty in the St James Circuit Court.

The indictment includes three counts each of murder and robbery with aggravation as well as illegal possession of firearm. The sentences are to be served simultaneously.

Justice Judith Pusey, who imposed the sentence, ordered that the clock should start counting on Smith’s punishment the same day it was handed down, meaning he will spend a total of 32 years behind bars, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed.

Smith’s accomplice, Jason Buckland, also pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced life in prison and ordered to serve 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

The convictions come amid a string of brazen attacks that have targeted security guards, leaving at least six dead in recent months.

The country woke up on June 29, 2012 to the grim news that three security guards employed to Guardsman Limited – Sylvia Beckford, Judith McCauley and Brian Morris – were found dead at the company’s office in Westmoreland.

One of the victims was stabbed to death, another was shot to death, while the third was shot and stabbed, the ODPP said, citing the post-mortem reports.

Two guns, a van owned by Guardsman, and a cell phone were also stolen.

Investigators quickly zoomed in on Buckland and Smith, who both reside in the community of Three Miles River in the parish, and they were apprehended five days after the incident.

FOUND WITH GUNS

Buckland was found with the stolen guns and several rounds of ammunition, while Smith had the keys to the stolen van when he was apprehended, the ODPP said, citing evidence in the case.

Both men gave statements to the police under caution, in which they admitted being at Guardsman office on the day of the killing, but pointed the finger at each other as the person responsible for the killings, the ODPP said.

Smith said in his statement that, unlike Buckland, he decided not to wear a mask when they showed up at the offices of his former employer.

He said Buckland held a gun to the head of a male security guard before he slashed him to force their way on to the premises.

Buckland has previously admitted to being involved in the robbery, but denied playing any role in the slayings.