Last year, 22-year-old FF decides to go to the last carnival evening in Marigot. He is in Quartier d'Orléans and takes his father's car, in which he finds a 7,65 mm caliber pistol stored in the glove compartment. Arrived at the scene of the festivities, he puts the gun in his pants and goes to have fun. Around midnight, he leaves. He picked up two individuals hitchhiking in Galisbay and returned to Quartier. At the Cul de Sac roundabout, he was stopped by the gendarmes who wanted to check the car; a similar model was reported stolen the day before.
FF gets out of the vehicle and flees when a gendarme begins a pat-down because he does not want the latter to discover the pistol he always has with him. But in the flight, the weapon falls to the ground and is recovered by the military.
The next day, FF accompanied by his mother went to the gendarmerie to admit the facts. He explains that he found the weapon in the glove compartment but “cannot say why he took it on him”. The father - the owner of the vehicle - is also questioned. 46-year-old GF confirms that the gun belongs to him. He explains “having found her on the beach after Irma” and that “her uncle provided him with ammunition”. GF specifies that he uses the weapon "to protect himself from the oxen" which he takes care of. And that that day, he forgot to remove it from the car. He didn't think his son was going to take the car either.
The father and son are taken into custody and then prosecuted: the first for possession of a weapon without authorization and the second for carrying a weapon. It is also the son of having driven without a license; FF only had the code. The two individuals appeared Thursday before the local court of Saint-Martin and recognized the facts again without difficulty.
After deliberation, the court sentenced the son to five months suspended prison sentence and the father to a fine of 1 euros. Both are prohibited from owning a weapon for five years. The court also received the civil action from the gendarme who had been injured by falling during the altercation with FF at the time of the control, and ordered FF to pay him 500 euros in damages and interest.
As for the weapon, it was confiscated for destruction. It had been analyzed by the investigators: it was "in perfect firing order", that is to say it was charged, but was not involved in any police procedure. (soualigapost.com)
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