Diamond Hill Estate on July 20, 2017. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG--The suspects involved in a fight among several men at the entrance to Diamond Hill Estate in Cole Bay on July 20, 2017, during which Gary Zorilla was stabbed to death will not be going to prison for the incident. The suspects learned their fate during the verdict reading in the Court of First Instance last week.
Akil Amaru Livestone was facing 15 years for being the one responsible for the violent death. The Prosecutor in the case charged him with manslaughter, the inflicting of severe bodily harm, and public violence. Zorilla died because of multiple stab wounds sustained during the fight.
Police reports suggest that seven men followed a group of four to the area with the intent to settle a score after an initial argument they had with each other earlier in the evening at a gasoline station on Bush Road which turned into a physical confrontation.
The latter group, which included Zorilla, saw three men at the station with whom they had issues and a fight ensued that resulted in the trio being overpowered by the foursome that attacked them. The three apparently managed to flee and contacted four other friends to come to their aid.
The assailants saw that they were then outnumbered and decided to go to another friend who lives in Diamond Hill Estate. However, the new group of seven followed and cut them off at the entrance. They all came out of their vehicles and a brawl ensued, leading to Zorilla being stabbed and two others sustaining cuts.
Zorilla and the two others were rushed to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for medical treatment, where Zorilla died from his wounds.
That same afternoon, the three suspects in this case voluntarily turned themselves in at the police station in Philipsburg, accompanied by their mothers and lawyers. The suspects were immediately arrested by orders of the Prosecutor.
Zorilla, who worked in the carwash section of Motorworld, left behind a four-year-old daughter and grieving family and friends, many of whom witnessed the trial from the public stands.
The Court sentenced Ignacio Andre Warner and Jeremy Nathan Samuel to one month of imprisonment and 100 hours of community service for committing acts of public violence.
The judge also declared the damages claim by Zorilla’s family inadmissible because Livestone was acquitted. The family was requesting US $7,678.88 in damages.
All suspects confessed that they had been involved in the fight, but denied they had stabbed anyone or that they had a weapon in their possession. The knife with a 2.5-centimetre blade with which Zorilla allegedly was killed was never found.
The main suspect was represented by attorney-at-law Sjamira Roseburg.
