PHILIPSBURG--A 36-year-old man suspected of involvement in a late-night shooting in Simpson Bay early Sunday morning, November 18, 2018, was acquitted for lack of evidence by the Court of First Instance on Monday.
Another suspect in the shootout, Jarvill Omarrie Richardson (36), was sentenced to eight years. The Prosecutor also demanded an eight-year sentence for suspect E.W.D.L., but the Court decided otherwise.
The judge stated in the verdict he was not convinced that the suspect was one of the three shooters seen on the camera images.
Detectives had recognized the suspect on images prior to the incident. On those images the suspect was seen standing quietly on the street in the company of another.
According to the Court, these images did not match the images of the shooter. “Although the shooter’s clothing is similar to those of the person who was recognized as a suspect, that is insufficient – given the poor quality of the images and in the absence of other convincing evidence – to establish beyond doubt that the suspect is the shooter,” the judge stated in the verdict. “With this state of affairs, the suspect must be acquitted of the charges.”
The evidence against both suspects was primarily based on the footage of video-surveillance cameras, a compilation of which, made by the Prosecutor’s Office, was shown in the courtroom during both hearings.
Suspect L. had not denied he had been visiting a nightclub in the area, but claimed he had not taken part in the shooting.
In the shooting, two duos fired gunshots at each other across Simpson Bay Road, while the area was crowded with visitors to the entertainment area.
Based on the camera footage, police investigators and the Prosecutor’s Office held L. for one of the shooters. The Prosecutor said during the December 11 court hearing she did not consider murder proven, but called on the Court to convict the defendant of manslaughter and of possession of an illegal firearm.
Attorney-at-law Shaira Bommel had pleaded for her client’s acquittal, as she had found no legal and convincing evidence that her client was one of the shooters.
The lawyer said the case against her client was only based on the statements of two detectives. They had claimed that they had recognized L. on the video images.
Bommel pleaded for her client’s full acquittal and filed a request to lift her client’s pre-trial detention. She said there was too much room for doubt, as the case was built on “guesswork, speculation and assumptions.”
