It was by videoconference that JR, a 31-year-old national of Sint Maarten, appeared in front of the Saint-Martin local court on Wednesday morning. He has been imprisoned in the Basse Terre remand center for a month. On December 2, he was the subject of a committal warrant following his arrest on November 30 in the Quartier d'Orléans for the unauthorized carrying of a handgun and concealment of property.
That day, JR drives a partly Dutch registered vehicle which appears suspicious in the eyes of the gendarmes. The latter therefore decide to check it: they will find that the serial number is altered and that the label identifying the vehicle comes off easily. After verification, the car was stolen a year earlier in Marigot and the computer comes from another vehicle stolen a year earlier also in Grand Case this time. Still during the check, the gendarmes searched JR and discovered a 32 caliber revolver on him, loaded with 5 cartridges.
Before the judges this morning, JR maintained his version exposed during his hearing in the gendarmerie: he is not the owner of the car and did not know that it came from a theft. He confides that it belongs to RB who lent him. Regarding the weapon, he admitted its possession. He explained that he bought it partly Dutch for "its protection".
The prosecution requested a one-year prison sentence, continued pre-trial detention, a ban on carrying a weapon and staying in France for 10 years.
After deliberation, the court acquitted JR of the concealment of property. On the other hand, he found him guilty of the surplus and sentenced him to a penalty greater than the requisitions, that is to say two years in prison, continued detention, a ban on carrying a weapon and staying in France for 10 years.
During police custody, the gendarmes also noted that JR had been the subject of an arrest warrant for three years. In 2017, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery and criminal conspiracy. He had appealed against this judgment but it was not suspensive; JR must therefore serve his sentence pending the re-examination of his case by the Basse-Terre Court of Appeal. (soualigapost.com)
6,198 total views
No comments