High School Clash: 2 of the 3 perpetrators in provisional detention

Two of the three individuals involved in the high school fight on 17 February have been placed in provisional detention; they have been transferred to the prison in Guadeloupe yesterday afternoon until they are sentenced on 29 March. The third individual has been placed under court supervision.

The gendarmes arrested these three men, aged 18, 22 and 29, at their homes and placed them in custody. This morning, they were summoned to appear before the Saint-Martin criminal court for a summary trial, a procedure in which they can either accept to be tried on the same day or ask for a delay to prepare their defense.

Of the three defendants, one of them - the oldest of the three- requested this delay. As they then considered it impossible to sentence the other two, alone, the judges postponed the trial. The three individuals will therefore be tried together on 29 March in Basse-Terre.

The Court also had to rule on their situation. The prosecution requested a detention warrant against the two who had already been sentenced for acts of violence. The 29-year old culprit has had seven convictions and the other one aged 22 received a one-year prison sentence on 15 December. Both have been placed in provisional detention, which is why they will be sentenced in Guadeloupe and defended by other lawyers.

As for the third defendant, the youngest one, he was placed under court supervision and is prohibited from passing near schools, holding a weapon and must report twice a week at the gendarmerie starting this Friday.

Many relatives have come to support them since this morning. In order to avoid possible misbehavior in the hearing room as has already happened in other cases, only the immediate family including the parents has been allowed to enter the room.

They are all three accused of gang violence with the use of a weapon; they used a machete and injured a victim. They are also accused of having entered a school without being authorized. The eldest is also accused of having vandalized the school gate.