Man Serving 18 Years for Manslaughter Dropping Bid to Reduce Sentence

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A man serving time for killing someone he says tricked him into believing they were a woman has now dropped his bid to reduce that sentence.

Damaine Sterling is serving 18 years for the manslaughter of Jamal Russell who was killed in 2020. Sterling had already spent four years in custody before being sentenced in 2024.

He went before the Court of Appeal arguing that Justice Andrew Forbes only gave him two years’ credit for time he spent awaiting trial.

But Sterling withdrew his appeal after prosecutor Eurika Coccia noted that he also served a separate two-year sentence for housebreaking during that same period.

Court records say Sterling went to Russell’s Grand Bahama home on February 12th, 2020 after the two had been communicating on Facebook and Whatsapp for weeks.

Sterling said they drank and smoked marijuana and that Russell later offered to perform a sexual act on him. He claimed he declined telling Russell he was “moving like a man.”

A fight broke out ad sterling strangled Russell with a scarf, then put his body in a bin.

After the killing, Sterling searched the home and stole Russell’s belongings.