PHILIPSBURG--Police officer R.M.P.Y., who is detained for the murder of Akeem Isidora on March 4, will be standing trial on murder and manslaughter charges on October 28, the Court of First Instance decided Wednesday.
Y. (23), who is detained at KIA prison in Aruba for safety reasons, but was flown back to St. Maarten to be present for Wednesday’s hearing, will remain in custody until the October hearing. The Court turned down a request by Y.’s lawyer Shaira Bommel to suspend or lift his pre-trial detention.
Y. was arrested May 17 in connection with the fatal shooting of Isidora (22) during an altercation in Happy Estate, Belvedere. He was sent to Aruba later because of safety risks in the Pointe Blanche prison.
The police said in a report after the shooting that witnesses had reported that the incident occurred after a very heated verbal confrontation between the off-duty officer, who was driving in his personal vehicle at that time, and a group of men from the neighbourhood. At one point during this confrontation, the situation escalated and got out of control, the police said at the time.
According to witnesses, this is when shots were fired, leaving Isidora dead on the street. The officer was suspended from his post after the incident. He also will be charged with possession of a firearm in contravention of the Fire Weapon Ordinance.
Sporting white T-shirts with the defendant’s portrait, a large group of supporters in the public gallery witnessed Prosecutor Gonda van der Wulp request a postponement of the hearing until October, because the case file has not yet been completed and witnesses still need to be heard.
Attorney Bommel also wants to hear witnesses in building her defence, which she announced would be based on the premise that her client acted in self-defence.
According to the defence, Y. acted out of fear, as he had been threatened while he was surrounded by a group of youngsters as he was sitting in his car.
The lawyer called on the Court to lift the officer’s pre-trial detention, which she called “unnecessary” and “unjustified.” She pointed out that her client was a first offender and had been “very” cooperative in the police investigations.
According to Bommel, her client would receive double punishment by his detention in “solitary confinement” in Aruba, far away from his family in St. Maarten and virtually without any legal assistance.
The Prosecutor’s Office is of the opinion that there are insufficient indications the police officer acted in self-defence. Van der Wulp said there had been two incidents that day and, according to witness statements, among them also the officer’s girlfriend, he had not left the scene and had been waiting in his car for the victim to arrive.
“He had ample time to leave, but apparently waited for a confrontation with a loaded firearm,” the Prosecutor said.
The Prosecutor’s Office was against the suspect’s release from pre-trial detention. Van der Wulp said the shooting incident involving a member of the Police Force on the public road, in what she described as a “working-class neighbourhood,” had been “carefully investigated.”
