~ Says Prosecutor Martijn Reinier Van Nes has an axe to grind with her as he withholds her belongings.~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Judy LaPaix a civil servant from the Ministry of Justice has been exonerated from all criminal charges says the Prosecutor’s Office via a letter that was delivered to her on Wednesday.
LaPaix however, still cannot get back her personal belongings that were taken from her home on June 20th, 2018 when she was arrested and her home was searched by detectives in the presence of Judge Giesen.
LaPaix said that her life is no longer the same since the arrest and the worldwide label she was given and even though she was released shortly after the arrest she now has to take the Minister of Justice to court to be able to return to work. That case is scheduled for December 18th.
In explaining her plight LaPaix said that she was arrested and accused of taking a “bribe” as a Civil Servant simply because she wrote 7 letters for Joan Peterson and she charged Peterson $100.00 for drafting the letters. LaPaix said the Prosecutor’s Office made their conclusions based on a Whatsapp text message with Peterson when she requested her services. LaPaix further explained that even though she worked at the Ministry of Justice and considered law enforcement officers to be her colleagues not once they summoned her to explain the text messages which she said was very clear.
“When the detectives and judge showed up at my home, they arrested me and conducted a house search in my absence and to date, the police neither the Prosecutor’s Office did not give me an inventory as to what they removed from my home. I know some of the things that are missing from my home, but I just don’t know all that was removed officially. Besides that, I contacted the Prosecutor’s Office today to ask when I can get my belongings back and I was told that Prosecutor Martijn Reinier Van Nes refused to speak with me however, I was told that a decision still has to be taken on what if anything will be returned to me.”
Nightmare.
LaPaix said her nightmare started on September 1st, 2017 when her boyfriend Fernando York van Heyningen was arrested for a double homicide that took place in front of his Sucker Garden home on January 16th, 2017. “On September 1st, 2017, detectives and a judge showed up at Van Heyningen’s house and broke down his door and began searching his home at the time my boyfriend was at my home I drove him to his house when his relatives told him about police being at his house. When I reached the scene my boyfriend came out of the car and went into his house and he was arrested while I stayed at his uncle’s house across the street. Detective Leslie Richardson approached me while I was there and took my phone also searched my vehicle illegally. Since then I cannot get my phone back from the police and my boyfriend cannot get his belongings back even though he was also exonerated since March 2018. What is worst in all of this the Police, Prosecutor, and Judge left my boyfriend’s house open while he was in pre-trial detention for two days and his home was invaded by robbers. Can you imagine the Prosecutor and Judge arrested him because he spoke on Whatsapp to two persons that police had as suspects in the same homicide investigations. LaPaix said those two persons were released from custody and while she was victimized her boyfriend is also suffering the same faith because he cannot even find a job because of his experience with law enforcement.
Click here to read the letter of exoneration.\