PHILIPSBURG–Hashantley F. Martina (26) was sentenced Wednesday by the Court of First Instance to eighty hours of community service for joyriding.
He was arrested November 19, 2016, in the middle of the night near St. Maarten Zoo. According to the police, he displayed suspicious behaviour and in the vicinity an amount of cocaine was found. He was arrested, shackled and taken into a police vehicle. Despite being shackled, Martina managed to drive away in the police car, only to be apprehended later again.
During Wednesday’s hearing the Prosecutor asked for an acquittal of the drug-possession charge as it could not be established without reasonable doubt that the drugs belonged to the suspect.
The Prosecutor did ask for two months imprisonment for car theft and/or “joyriding.” The Judge in the Court of First Instance believed that joyriding was legally and convincingly proven and sentenced Martina to 80 hours of community service.
Co-defendant J.A.P. (42) was acquitted. He was arrested that same night together with Martina and was also charged with drug possession. Also in this case, drug possession was not found proven.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/63192-community-service-for-joyriding-in-police-car
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