DENVER Lyons, 32, of Mannings Hill Road, Kingston, was yesterday sentenced to life in prison for the 2003 murder of businessman Eugene Pitt.

Pitt, 44, of Norbrook, St Andrew, was shot dead on December 26, 2003 shortly after he left a bar.

The prosecution led evidence before the 12-member jury that on December 26, 2003, at about 1:00 in the morning, Pitt and a friend , Rohan Robinson were drinking at a bar on Mannings Hill Road, when about three to four minutes after Pitt left the bar, Robinson saw him running back to the bar shouting his name. Robinson testified that he saw between four and five men, including the accused man, Lyons, chasing Pitt. He told the court that Lyons then stabbed Pitt in the neck and walked away. He died in the University Hospital four days later.

The post-mortem report showed that the businessman received three stab wounds to his neck, chest and back.

The prosecution said when Lyons was arrested he said under caution that “a him first stab me an me stab him ina him neck”.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty of non-capital murder and trial judge Justice Carol Beswick, who sentenced Lyons to life in prison, ordered that he serve 20 years before he becomes eligible for parole.

Lyons was represented by defence attorney Leslie Harper.