PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten (OM)– The two convicts in the “Thorium” case have been arrested by United States law enforcement. The arrests were made on the request of the Office of the Attorney General of Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba. The two were arrested in Fulton County, Georgia.
Following extradition proceedings, convicts D.O. and S.R. will be transported to Sint Maarten to sit their unconditional sentences. For D.O., that means 20 years imprisonment for the 2018 fatal shooting outside adult entertainment club El Capitan in Sucker Garden. S.R. was sentenced by the Court of Appeal on 31 March 2022 for the 2018 fatal shooting. His jail time is 18 years.
Extradition proceedings are expected to take two to three months.
The arrest of the two men was ordered immediately by the Court of Appeal after the verdict was rendered in March 2022, however, neither was in court at the time. They have been sought by justice authorities ever since. The search was first by the Police Force of Sint Maarten KPSM with international authorities up on the alert for the fugitives.
The verdict of the Court of Appeal overturned the part of the 2020 decision of the Court of First Instance that let the men go free.
The two men were released from prison two years ago after the Court of First Instance ruled that they acted in self-defence when they shot and killed a man and seriously injured another during an altercation at El Capitan, December 31, 2018.The Court of First Instance had found them guilty of gun possession and sentenced them to 21 months in prison, six months of which are suspended, on three years’ probation. The two men, at that time, were detained since January 2, 2019.
The Prosecutor’s Office Sint Maarten appealed the verdict of the Court of First Instance.
OM SXM will oversee the execution of the sentences of the two convicts.
