A Dutch-side police officer inspecting the interior of a stolen Hyundai Creta, while two Gendarmes look on. The suspected car thieves escaped capture after leading authorities on a high-speed chase from French Quarter to St. Peters.
ST. PETERS--The Gendarmerie were led on a high-speed chase across the border by two persons driving a stolen white Hyundai Creta. The St. Maarten Police Force KPSM and the Gendarmerie blocked the stolen vehicle on Marigot Hill Road in St. Peters around 8:00pm Thursday, at which time the driver and passenger abandoned the car and fled on foot. They remain at large.
According to police, Gendarmerie officers spotted the stolen vehicle in French Quarter sometime after 7:00pm Thursday. The officers signalled the driver to stop, but instead the person bolted and led the Gendarmerie on a high-speed chase toward the Belvedere/French Quarter border.
The Gendarmerie told the St. Maarten Police Force about the chase and then crossed the border in pursuit of the suspects.
Dutch side police joined their French counterparts shortly afterwards while the driver led authorities through Sucker Garden and W.J.A. Nisbeth Road (Pondfill) before turning onto Bush Road and then onto L.B. Scott Road towards St. Peters.
The joint police forces blocked in the suspected car thieves on Marigot Hill Road in St. Peters. Seeing no clear path to drive through, the persons ditched the vehicle and fled on foot. In their haste, one of the car thieves ran out of their shoes and left behind a single black slipper on the ground.
Police say at least one of the suspects is a man but could not confirm whether the second suspect is a man or a woman. As of 8:50pm Thursday, the suspects have not been arrested.
Police acting spokesperson Ethelwoldus “Joe” Josepha said current protocols allow for both Dutch-side and French-side police to cross into each other’s territory in pursuit of criminal suspects and to subsequently stop and arrest them. However, after the arrest, the suspects are to be handed over to the respective authorities.
In this case, the Gendarmerie were allowed to stop and arrest the suspected car thieves, but then would have had to transfer them to Dutch-side police for processing.
