PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — My client has been detained since May 8, 2021 in connection with the shooting incident that took place in Dawn Beach where the victim succumbed to his sustained injuries. Certainly, my client regrets the course of events, however he maintains his positioning in the matter that had he not defended himself, it would have been him instead.
As it pertains to the ongoing case, my client doesn’t feel hopeful that a fair (police) investigation is being carried out. Instead, it seems that the authorities are investigating the case with tunnel vision, not taken into account the alternative scenario as outlined by my client. During a number of interrogations, this working method continues to be confirmed time after time. This is concerning to my client.
Without getting into specific details regarding the case, it seems that questioning isn’t being done in an open and transparent manner. Instead, conclusions are being drawn before questions are asked or that my client can respond to. In addition to that, matters that should be weighed in favor of my client, are only being taken up by officers after that it has been noticed as missing by me as lawyer. In other instances, pertinent information derived from the questioning, or information regarding the case, are either being left out or misworded unless observed by my person.
It is imperative that we guard against this course of action as it is the task of the authorities to carry out full investigation as well as to consider all possible scenarios to the full extent and with the same commitment. There should be no room for any ‘tunnel vision’ investigations in criminal cases.
Given all that has transpired, it seems that this is an attempt to deceive other parties to the proceedings, notwithstanding the judge. Personal conclusions must be omitted as it is after all, the judge who draws the final conclusions and not the police authorities.
Ultimately, my client is hoping for a fair trial in which his alternative scenario will be sufficiently investigated. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case now, and that is very bad and unacceptable.
