George Lynch (File Photo)

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC — Two men have been convicted of the premeditated murder of Jamaica-born George Lynch, who was killed 18 months after he moved to the island from Canada.

Lynch, 40, a father of three who worked as a hospital housekeeper, was shot dead outside a house in Hamilton Parish in May 2010.

Wolda Gardner, 34, and Rickai Dickinson, 29, who both pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit an indictable offence, will be sentenced later.

Gardner and Dickinson were also found guilty of gun possession in the killing, said to be a case of mistaken identity involving a St George’s gang.

Neither defendant spoke after being convicted.

The prosecutor, Carrington Mahoney, said Gardner ordered the killing, while Dickinson took part in the attack itself.

The jury deliberated for five hours before finding Dickinson unanimously guilty on both counts.

Ordered by Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves to reach a majority verdict on Gardner, the 12 jurors returned in minutes with 10 declaring him guilty.

Lynch’s mother-in-law, Rita Woolridge, broke into tears as the two men were led from the dock.

“George was a good man — he didn’t deserve that,” Woolridge told reporters, “I feel good that it’s over, but I feel bad he is not here for his children.”

Outside the courtroom, Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro hailed the double conviction as sending “a strong message to the community.

“It’s important to remember that this case was particularly tragic, in that it involved an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Lynch died from a single shot to the chest outside a home that was the subject of a trial involving an earlier mob attack there.

Lynch had gone to the house to visit his friend Philmore Phinn, who gave evidence just days before in the case against several men accused of the mob attack.
Police confirmed Lynch had no links to Bermuda’s gang underworld.

His father Leonard, then living in Branton, Ontario, Canada, described him at the time as a bystander who found himself alone and vulnerable when two masked men opened fire.

“Life is not the same, it has really upset our whole family and the worst part of the whole thing is his young family. His three young children have been left without a father,” said the grieving father in December 2010 as police continued their search for his son’s killers.

Lynch left behind two daughters, Emoy and Eshe.

When he was murdered, his Bermudian wife Nekesha was pregnant with their third daughter — named Itana after she was born.