Police officers escorting suspect Leonardo Cleophas Bromet (centre) out of the Courthouse on March 2, 2022. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG--To his great shock, defendant Leonardo Cleophas Bromet on March 23, 2022, heard the judge sentence him to twelve years in prison for shooting at a man in broad daylight in Simpson Bay, hitting the victim in the leg. The prosecutor had demanded eight years. Attorney Sjamira Roseburg immediately announced an appeal, as she said she was “flabbergasted” because of “the remarkably high sentence” for her client. On Monday, May 15, 2023, the Court of Appeals sentenced Bromet to ten years.
Eight gunshots were fired in front of restaurant Pollos Hermanos on Airport Road around 10:30am May 1, 2021, in what appeared to have been a rip deal gone wrong. On video-camera footage, which was shown in the courtroom, suspect Bromet and his victim could be seen firing eight shots back and forth, after which the suspect ran away. One shot hit the victim in his leg. He was rushed to the hospital in Marigot for treatment.
In the so-called “Bodo” investigation, Bromet was accused of having stolen a scooter and a shoulder bag containing two phones, US $750, a debit card and an ID card, together with another person, who was armed just like him. Bromet admitted that he had stolen the scooter, but denied that he had aimed a firearm at the victim.
The Appeals Court found Bromet guilty of attempted manslaughter, theft with threat of violence, illegal firearm possession and possession of 10 grammes of marijuana.
“The suspect committed a rip deal in broad daylight on a busy street, after which a shooting ensued. The suspect, while running off with the loot on the street, shot in the victim’s direction. The suspect took for granted that the victim or accidental bystanders would be fatally hit. The only thing the suspect thought about was to secure the loot that had just been stolen, without excluding gun violence,” the Appellate Court stated in its verdict.
Considering all aspects in this case, the Court of Appeals found that a sentence according to the prosecutor’s demand of 10 years, with deduction of time already spent in detention, was “appropriate and required.”
The suspect and the Prosecutor’s Office have two weeks’ time to file a final appeal.
