On April 17, 2010, Locke stabbed Edgar Monteagudo to death after an altercation

Yesterday, in the Corozal Supreme Court, Shawn Locke, 20, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter after he was accused of stabbing Edgar Monteagudo to death.

On April 17, 2010, in the village of San Jose, San Pablo, Locke was approached by Monteagudo and his nephew, who got into an argument with Locke that quickly turned physical. The two men got the upper hand on Locke, but Locke pulled out a knife and allegedly stabbed Monteagudo, then stabbed his nephew.

Monteagudo later died, but his nephew survived his injuries and was able to report the matter to police.

Initially, Locke was charged with murder, but that charge was later reduced to manslaughter and yesterday when the trial was set to start, Locke pleaded guilty to that charge.

In his mitigation hearing, Locke spoke to the court and expressed his remorse saying that “If the position was to repeat itself, I would act differently. Back then, I acted rashly, impulsively without giving it a thought.”

His mother also spoke on his behalf, as well as three other persons, all of whom spoke quite highly of him.

After hearing the mitigations pleas presented to the court, Justice Herbert Lord then sentenced Locke to 18 years in prison. Justice Lord gave consideration to the fact that Locke had spent three years on remand and gave him remission for those years, leaving only 15 years to be served.

Attorney Marcel Cardona represented Locke in the trial.