A South Ozone Park man was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison for murdering a man who he and a livery cab driver also robbed when the cabbie was supposed to be bringing the drunk patron home from an Ozone Park bar, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said this week.
Alex Gobardhan, 22, was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted in late July of murder, robbery and criminal possession of stolen property, according to Brown. The livery cab driver, Deevan Jagmarine, 24, of Jamaica, was sentenced the same day to 11 years in prison for robbing the victim. Jagmarine, who testified against Gobardhan at his week-long trial in July, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, the DA said.
“This was a senseless crime in which an innocent victim was robbed of his wallet, cell phone, gold bracelet – and his life,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “The sentences meted out by the court are justified and necessary to protect society from such individuals who would prey on vulnerable individuals.”
According to trial testimony, the victim, Matadin Ramnarain, 58, who was heavily intoxicated, got into Jagmarine’s taxi outside a bar called “The Rush,” located at 108th Street and 101st Avenue in Ozone Park, at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2010. The defendants then punched the victim in the face, robbed him and dumped his body, which was later found by a passerby who called 911, Brown said. The victim was removed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 11:30 p.m.
The medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia due to cardiovascular disease following blunt trauma to the head.
