The car wash on Sister Modesta Road where the fatal shooting took place.
PHILIPSBURG--Residents of Sister Modesta Road and the surrounding area in Simpson Bay witnessed a large-scale police search in the wee hours of Tuesday. After their apartment was searched, two men were arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man near a car wash on Sister Modesta Road on August 17, 2022.
Several searches took place on Tuesday morning as part of the investigation in the murder case that has been named Hexagon by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Dozens of police officers were dispatched to the location where the victim was found last year. He was shot in broad daylight, around 2:00pm, and died soon after from a bullet to his upper body. Detectives searched the premises of the car wash again on Tuesday morning, in the presence of the prosecutor.
Police also raided a nearby apartment. Two men in handcuffs were led outside and taken away by members of the arrest team. Inside the apartment detectives found weapons, an amount of drugs, and money that was unaccounted for, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office informed The Daily Herald.
It was confirmed that the two new suspects in the Hexagon case are well-known members of the community. A third suspect in the case, a man D.A.R., turned himself in on August 19, 2022, two days after the shooting. It has not been revealed what his role in the shooting was.
The victim had worked at the car wash, and reportedly had an argument with a man who pulled a gun on him. Police received multiple reports at the time, but were not able to determine the reason for the shooting. Even after D.A.R. had turned himself in, the Police Force of St. Maarten KPSM called on the public for help in solving this murder. “One suspect was detained in connection with the shooting. However, the police seek more information in this case,” KPSM stated.
The two suspects arrested on Tuesday, allegedly two brothers, have been detained pending further investigation into their role in the murder case.
