Justice: Firm prison sentences for thieves and arsonists

Eighteen months' imprisonment, six of them suspended, for one defendant and twelve months' imprisonment, six of them suspended, for the other two. These were the sentences handed down by the magistrates of the magistrates' court of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, on November 6, to the three defendants guilty of planning and carrying out the theft of five scooters and a motorcycle (which they ended up setting on fire) in Saint-Barthélemy on the night of September 20-21.
In court, the three young St. Martiners (aged 18, 24 and 22 respectively) put forward their disadvantaged condition and the temptation of St. Barthélemy and its riches to explain their actions. But these arguments clearly fell on deaf ears. In the file examined on November 6, evidence clearly showed that the three defendants, two of whom were employees of a Saint-Barth company, had meticulously prepared their attack. In particular, they had scouted out the location of the scooters and motorcycle they were after. What's more, they used a vehicle belonging to the company employing them to load and transport the vehicles. Except for the motorcycle, which was too heavy, so they decided to burn it to erase their fingerprints. The pilot of the boat due to dock at the fishermen's pontoon in Grand-Cul-de-Sac was afraid to enter the lagoon at night and without lights. The small staff is not what it used to be...
 “A well-rehearsed system”, commented the lawyer for one of the civil parties, who demanded at the hearing that ‘Saint-Martin must stop doing its business in Saint-Barth’. For the three defendants, the opportunity is not likely to present itself again any time soon.
In addition to their prison sentences, the magistrates also imposed a three-year ban on their stay in Saint-Barthélemy. One of them, the oldest, who initiated the operation and set fire to the motorcycle, will also have to pay a fine of 5,000 euros to the owner.
Although “grilled” by the prosecutor and the civil parties throughout the hearing, the three defendants did not reveal the identity of the person or persons behind the thefts.