A bouquet of flowers placed outside Market Garden supermarket in memory of the man who was shot and killed in an armed robbery on Sunday, March 22.
MARIGOT--After almost a week of police appeals for assistance, W.J.A. (18) was arrested on the French side in connection with having shot and killed another man in an armed robbery in front of Market Garden supermarket on Sunday, March 22.
Gendarmes arrested A. early Friday morning. The exact location of his arrest was not disclosed. Police also did not disclose what, if anything, was found in his possession at the time of the arrest.
A.’s arrest followed two appeals by the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM for information about his identity and whereabouts. Both times police released surveillance camera images of the suspect to help persons identify him.
A. is a French national and is being detained on the French side. He must go through an extradition process to be handed over to Dutch authorities for prosecution.
A. is suspected of having shot and killed a man while robbing him of his scooter. According to information gathered at the scene, the man was sitting on his scooter in the parking lot in front of the supermarket when he was approached by a man who was brandishing a firearm. The armed man demanded that the victim hand over his scooter.
During the robbery, the robber shot the victim in his upper body. After shooting the victim, the robber fled the scene on the scooter in the direction of Simpson Bay.
The St. Maarten Police Force and the Ambulance Department were sent to the scene shortly afterwards. They found the victim lying in the parking lot bleeding from the gunshot wound. Paramedics administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the man in an effort to revive him. However, he died of his injuries in the parking lot.
The Daily Herald understands the victim was a worker in restaurant Sale e Pepe in Simpson Bay. He was reportedly at the supermarket to shop for groceries.
