PHILIPSBURG--The 21-year-old suspect in the homicide of a young man whose life was taken on Back Street near Kruythoffsteeg on May 16, 2022, will be standing trial on charges of murder, manslaughter and firearm possession on June 16, 2023.
The Prosecutor’s Office is holding T.D.S. responsible for shooting and killing the 20-year-old victim. The way in which the victim died suggests that it was a planned killing, the police said at the time. Witnesses told the police they heard only a single gunshot. The victim was sitting behind the wheel of a parked car.
The young man reportedly went to visit friends. He was shot in the head at close range, according to the police. There was no dispute or fighting prior to the shooting, according to unofficial sources.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, there are several indications of S.’s involvement in this case. For instance, he was seen in the area at the time of the shooting. There also is video footage of him in the yard where the shooting took place.
S. panicked and took off on a scooter shortly thereafter. Also, he gave differing statements, the police said, and he allegedly had spoken about the purchase of a firearm.
Several witnesses in this case are still to be heard by an investigating judge.
During Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, attorney-at-law Zylena Bary called on the judge to let her client go so that he could await his trial in freedom. The lawyer had filed a similar request during a pro-forma hearing in September 2022.
S., who denies the charges, was arrested and his house searched three weeks after the shooting.
According to his lawyer, there are other suspects who may have committed the alleged crimes. Considering that her client has been detained for almost a year, Bary pleaded with the court to lift or suspend his preliminary detention.
Standing in front of the judge, wearing dark pants and a grey T-shirt, S. read a written statement to the court.
“I cooperated with the law, I gave a sample of my DNA and cooperated with the investigators. I am asking you, judge, how long I will still be locked up. I follow social-skills classes and Bible School and I assist in the [prison – Ed.] kitchen. I want to get out and finish school and start working,” S. told the judge.
In the prosecutor’s opinion, the suspect should remain in detention. “It concerns a violent case in which the victim died,” he said.
After a brief recess, the judge returned to the courtroom to inform the defendant that he will remain in detention pending his trial, as there are “strong suspicions” that he committed a serious crime. Also, the suspect’s personal circumstances were not such as to warrant early release, the judge added in explaining her decision.
