PHILPSBURG:---The Joint Court of Justice on March 23rd sentenced 22 year old Angel Rodriguez to 18 months imprisonment for preparing together with others, a robbery at a jewelry store. On October 28th 2015 the court of First Instance had acquitted Angel Rodriguez . of all charges against him.
However, the Public Prosecutor's Office appealed against the verdict rendered by the Court of First Instance. During the appeal hearing the Solicitor General requested that the suspect to be sentenced to three (3) years imprisonment. The Joint Court of Justice overruled the verdict of the court of first instance and found Angel Rodriguez guilty and sentenced him to 18 months.
Rodriguez was detained by the police on July 29th 2015 after he was spotted driving a black scooter without any covers. He was wearing a blue sweater with long sleeves and black pants. Not long before on July 24th 2015, a jewelry store was robbed and in this robbery a black scooter was used. The suspect also wore a blue sweater with long sleeves and black pants based on the description of the suspect that committed the robbery.
According to the Joint Court of Justice such robberies occur frequently in St. Maarten and cause great unrest among the population. The robbery foiled solely because the robber was spotted in time. The suspect was after trying to escape from the police, was arrested and the tools he used to to commit the crime was in his possession at the time of the arrest, according to the Joint Court of Justice. When apprehended Angel Rodriguez he had a machete and a hammer in his possession.
In an unrelated case another suspect identified as suspect J.G. appeared before a judge of instruction on Tuesday. He is suspected of committing an armed robbery on October 30th 2015 in Cupecoy. During this robbery the suspect stole a large sum of money from his victim whom he threatened with a firearm. J.G. was detained on March 7th 2016. In light of the ongoing investigation the Public Prosecutor requested the suspect be remanded to custody for another 60 days ("gevangenhouding"). The judge granted the prolonged custody.
