PHILIPSBURG--United People's party (UP) Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley and a second suspect believed to be his brother, was arrested on May 15, 2026, by the National Detectives (Landsrecherche Sint Maarten) in connection with a criminal investigation into an alleged public assault.
The Prosecutor's Office in a press release identified one of the suspects only as a Member of the House Parliament “O.O.” However, the individual arrested is MP Ottley. According to the release, the incident reportedly took place in April 2026 at the Carnival Village. A second suspect was also detained as part of the investigation.
The case is being investigated by Landsrecherche St Maarten under the direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities said no further substantive information will be released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
The Daily Herald reported on May 8 that Geert Hatzmann, the lawyer of a 17-year-old boy who was allegedly assaulted and robbed on the opening night of Carnival by the politician's brother, had questioned why authorities had not acted in the case despite government promises of strict law enforcement throughout the Carnival season. A complaint with supporting evidence had been filed with police four weeks before the lawyer went public with the case.
The lawyer also claimed that the suspect (Ottley's brother) is still required to serve a prison sentence for an earlier violent offence.
