Armed robberies: the gendarmes arrested five individuals
- From November 2014 to March 2015, the gendarmerie received several reports of theft and attempted theft in stores (Leader Price, Simply Market...). These acts were committed by several individuals and were followed by the unlawful confinement of the employees in order to get the cash contained inside the safe. This particularly determined team didn’t hesitate to use their weapons against the police in order to cover their getaway. After several months of long and complex investigations, three individuals from the Dominican Republic have been identified.
They were arrested and placed in custody at the end of May 2016 and have recognized their participation in five thefts or attempted thefts. On June 2, 2016, they appeared before an investigating judge of the Pointe-à-Pitre Regional Court (tribunal de grande instance) and indicted among other things for armed professional gang theft, kidnapping and unlawful confinement, armed assault on a police officer. They have been placed in temporary detention at the Baie Mahault jail for two of them and at the Basse Terre detention house for the third.
- On May 09, 2016 at around 10 am, the gendarmerie was informed of an armed robbery at the Sea-Food company located in the Howell Center artisanal zone in Marigot. The amount stolen comes to approximately 30,000 dollars and 2,800 euros.
The investigation has been assigned to the Saint Martin research brigade. The investigations quickly led to the identification of two individuals who had a bad reputation among the police. The testimonies gathered, cross checking facts, technical and scientific police acts helped to confirm these first elements and arrest the authors.
The suspects have been arrested and placed in custody after having committed the crime a month ago. On June 15, 2016, they were brought before the court and presented to the public prosecutor in Basse Terre and sentenced to 2 years in prison.
"More generally, these good results reflect the unfailing commitment of the gendarmes of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy who do their best to curb general delinquency on the northern islands", said Commander Manzoni. Thus, since the beginning of 2016, the main categories of offenses (armed robberies, assaults and damage to property) have noticeably dropped by approximately less than 10%. In addition, the presence of foot patrols in all the sectors of the island will be continued or even reinforced in the coming months.
