PHILIPSBURG–The Joint Court of Justice sentenced two serial robbers to sixteen and fourteen years in prison on Wednesday.
The Prosecutor’s Office had called for prison sentences of 18 and 16 years during the August 23 appeal hearing of Florentine Jerome (27) and Vernon Emmanuel Boyd (25), who had received prison terms of 14 and 10 years, respectively, from the Court of First Instance on December 21, 2018.
Repeat offender Jerome and first-time offender Boyd both stood trial for a string of street robberies as well as in stores and in the homes of their victims.
The Court of Appeals found Jerome guilty on 10 criminal counts, including five armed robberies and a home invasion. He also had tried to rob a person of his money and two necklaces under threat of violence.
Jerome was also found guilty of unlawful deprivation of liberty by pushing a victim into a car and holding him there, and of threatening to kill two persons with a firearm. The large number of crimes were committed between November 2017 and January 2018.
The Court of Appeals stated that the “apparent ease” with which Jerome and his co-offenders had committed these crimes was reason for “fear” of repeat offending, also because the defendants had not given any evidence that they understood the “reprehensibility” of their behaviour.
Co-defendant Boyd was found guilty of attempted manslaughter in the shooting of Joceidy H. Grell on December 5, 2017. He was also convicted of two armed robberies and of one attempt.
Both defendants were also found guilty of possession of illegal firearms.
Jerome and Boyd were both also confronted with dispossession claims filed by the Prosecutor’s Office to retrieve the proceeds of the two defendants’ criminal operations.
The Joint Court ordered Jerome to pay the amounts of US $11,619 and NAf. 1,700 to Country St. Maarten. In case of non-payment he will have to spend 101 days in detention.
Boyd was ordered to pay back his criminal proceeds of $18,938.75 and NAf. 1,675. He will have to sit out 138 days in case of non-compliance.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/90821-serial-robbers-receive-prison-sentences-of-16-and-14-years
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