PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance on Thursday sentenced a nineteen-year-old man to ninety days, 55 of which were suspended, and sixty hours of community service, for the misappropriation of stolen goods in March and October 2018.
Noah Joseph Toussaint was found guilty of the possession of two mobile phones that were stolen during an armed robbery at Dragon Chinese restaurant on March 7, 2018, and of the possession of stolen items, among which were electronic devices, three watches and a pair of sneakers, which were taken from a home in Cole Bay on October 5, 2018.
The defendant was also found in the possession of a laptop computer that reportedly was stolen during an armed robbery at a home in French St. Martin on October 10, 2018.
Toussaint initially was also charged with involvement in the theft of the stolen goods, and of illegal firearm possession, but the Prosecutor dropped these charges during the hearing.
Toussaint was caught after the owner of the items that were stolen on October 5, 2018, recognised his belongings from photos on Facebook. As the items were put on sale, he contacted the seller, feigning interest in a hard disc.
Buyer and seller agreed to meet at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Cole Bay, where the alerted police arrested the defendant. The laptop that allegedly was stolen in French St. Martin was in his car.
Initially, the defendant told the police he had bought the hard disc at a pawn shop in July 2018, but confronted with the fact that the hard disc was among items that were stolen three months later, he came clean and said he had put on sale the hard disc and other items that had belonged to a housemate of his.
The Prosecutor said there was insufficient proof to connect the suspect, who spent 35 days in pre-trial detention at the Pointe Blanche prison, with theft and armed robbery, but he did find fencing of the stolen items proven. The Prosecution demanded 200 hours of community service, 80 of which were to be suspended.
Attorney-at-law Shamira Roseburg agreed with the Prosecutor where the acquittals were concerned, but said she considered the demand too high.
The judge said the defendant had misappropriated a large number of stolen items. “The crime of fencing sustains the theft of goods, sometimes with violence. You are to be blamed for this. I think the Prosecutor’s demand is very mild,” the judge said in pronouncing the verdict.
