ST. EUSTATIUS--The Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN arrested four youths ages 15-17 years in their homes in St. Eustatius early Monday morning. The youngsters are all suspected of involvement with embezzlement, theft, breaking and entering, and destruction of properties.
The arrests were made on the authority of the Prosecutor’s Office following several months of police investigations, KPCN said Monday.
The Investigating Judge also ordered the arresting officers to carry out house searches on two premises to gather more information in this investigation. Arrested were R.L.G (16), K.R (17), D. de B. (15) and M.v.d.S. (15).
Chief of Basic Police Care in Statia Maurice van Velzen explained immediately following the arrests that the police had tried to carry out the operation discretely in recognition of the big impact the arrests of the four juveniles would have on them, their families and the community at large.
Victim Support and Centre for Youth and Family were on stand-by as of 8:00am Monday to support the families of these youngsters.
According to the police, more investigations are pending in this case. The Statia police were assisted in the arrests by their colleagues from Bonaire.
The young suspects were all arrested in the early morning hours. The police made the first two arrests in two homes at Van Tonningenweg around 5:50am under a resident’s loud exclamations that could be heard from the street. Then the police went to Rosemary Lane where another arrest was made and to Golden Rock Village, where the fourth youth was arrested.
Students looked on in disbelief as the youths were taken to the waiting police vehicles. Only one of the suspects resisted his arrest. Another was crying and wailing while he was being arrested.
One of the youths’ parents complained about the early-morning arrest on local radio, but Police Chief van Velzen explained that the decision to make the arrests early in the day had been made to prevent the students from leaving their homes for school and to avoid making the arrests during school hours.
The police underlined that the arrests had been made according to the rules. The police announced their presence, requested that home owners open the doors before they entered, and they all had been provided with arrest warrants.
One resident complained that their front door had been forced open. A police officer was seen taking pictures of a door of which the glass had been shattered.
Two of the parents were very emotional as their sons were being taken away by the police. One parent was seen kneeling in prayer at the police station’s steps.
While two of the arrested youths were being transferred to Bonaire on Monday afternoon an incident took place which caused the police to make an arrest at F.D. Roosevelt Airport. The authorities said bottles had been thrown at a jet plane that was waiting at the airport to take the two juveniles to Bonaire. The bottles broke near the aircraft’s wheels, which was reason to make the arrest. The aircraft took off at 3:10pm, after which the individual was arrested.
