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PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance on Thursday heard the case against two men and a woman suspected of involvement in a number of shootings.

Suspects R.R.R. (26), aka “Reo” or “Yeyo,” and R.C.T.A. (32), aka “Flamingo,” faced charges of involvement in no less than six shooting incidents. A.’s girlfriend P.G. (24) was charged with being an accomplice to one of the shootings.

Both suspects faced charges of attempted murder, manslaughter and inflicting grievous bodily harm. The suspects, handcuffed as they sat before the Judge in the Courthouse, which was guarded by heavily-armed members of the Police Arrest Team, heard the Prosecutor’s Office demand 21-year sentences for them. G., who is not detained, is facing three years.

R. was charged with three attempted murders with five victims, one of whom is paralysed for life, and with one case in which a man was threatened with a firearm.

The Prosecutor’s Office held A. responsible for four attempted murders with seven victims, including the man who was paralysed and two police officers.

Death list

The two men allegedly had drafted a “death list” of persons they held responsible for the violent death of R.’s girlfriend Deyanida “Clarisa” Faneyte (20), who was living in Dutch Quarter in the social-housing development “The Projects.” She was hit by a bullet while sitting in the car next to her boyfriend on March 18, 2014.

A. was also a victim in a shooting that took place on January 23, 2014, in which his right hand and upper arm were injured.

After these two incidents, the two suspects sought revenge and started hunting the people they held responsible for the shootings and their aides, family and friends.

The shootings on the public roads, mainly in Dutch Quarter, took place in “rapid succession,” said Prosecutor Noordzij. He said shots had been fired “at random and usually from a driving car, which could easily have led to bystanders being hit.”

The Prosecutor said six shootings in which eight firearms had been used had taken place in less than three months. Eleven people in total could have lost their lives, but in fact only one of them was injured.

R.S.B. was hit in a drive-by shooting on A.Th. Illidge Road at the junction with Gibbs Drive in Dutch Quarter on July 24, at approximately 10:10pm. He sustained several gunshot wounds. The one in his back paralysed him from the waist down. According to the victim, he was shot by R., who was sitting in a car driven by A.

R. was arrested on August 21, 2014, for involvement in the shooting. Five semi-automatic firearms with ammunition, among them one machinegun, were found in his apartment on Gibbs Drive. Ballistic investigations linked him also to the other shootings, according to the Prosecutor.

R. said the weapons were not his. He claimed he had left the apartment after his girlfriend’s death and had given shelter to another man. He said the weapons belonged to that man, but traces of R.’s DNA were found on several.

Hands off police

A. was arrested on Raspberry Road in St. Peters on March 7, 2015. As he was considered a dangerous suspect he was confronted by a number of police officers while he was sitting in the backyard of an apartment complex. Two women officers narrowly escaped death as A., described as a “dangerous and police-evading” suspect, fired a number of gunshots at the two officers from close range.

The Prosecutor considered attempted murder proven and specifically held it against the defendant that he had attempted to kill police officers, which was considered an aggravating circumstance.

“You should keep your hands off of the police. A clear signal should be given to society,” Prosecutor Noordzij said at the hearing, which took place one day after bike patrol Police Officer Gamali “Benji” Benjamin was shot while responding to an armed robbery at Oro Diamante on Front Street on Wednesday.

R. also was charged with misappropriation of a Suzuki Swift, a Kia Rio and licence plates. The prosecution called for acquittal on the charge of cocaine possession, but considered possession of 35 grams of marijuana proven.

R. also was charged with the premeditated attempted murder of G.G. and W.M., who were shot at from behind while driving a car on Zorg en Rust Road on May 16, 2014. G. said he had heard seven shots. An inspection of the car revealed two bullet holes in the rear of the car.

Gunshot spray

The Prosecutor’s Office is holding all suspects responsible for the “spray” of gunshots that were fired at the bedroom windows of a house on Illidge Road on July 20, 2014, in the attempted murder of F.L. and J.A. The shots shattered the bedroom window and bullet holes were found in the bed’s headboard. F.L. and J.A. narrowly escaped injury by lying down on the floor.

Prosecutor Gonda van der Wulp said she did not find attempted murder proven in the case of J.A., as her assailant had not been aware that she was also in the bedroom.

The Prosecutor found it proven that R. had been the shooter and that the other two suspects had provided him with information about the victim’s presence and the bedroom’s location. In this regard, A. was held as an accessory and G. as an accomplice in this crime.

After R. was arrested A.R. went to the police station to press charges against him because he had been threatened on several occasions on Madrid Road in The Projects concerning a conflict with his sister-in-law in June and July 2014. The sister-in-law in question is the “lil sister” of the suspect’s deceased girlfriend.

Prosecutor Noordzij said there was insufficient evidence that R. had wanted to shoot A.R., but only found threatening with a firearm proven.

F.L. and his girlfriend J.M. were shot at while driving on a quad bike on Mt. William Hill, around 9:45pm on February 28, 2015. They narrowly escaped death while L. took his girlfriend on the usual ride home. The girl heard a bullet whiz right past her head.

The prosecution is holding A. responsible for the shooting. L. had told the police on May 20 that he suspected his neighbour “Flamingo” was the shooter, “because he is also bow-legged.”

After A.’s arrest, a magnum revolver was found hidden in a refrigerator in the bedroom of A.’s brother, a bulletproof vest on the floor in front of it. The find also consisted of several bullets, two empty cartridges and a mask.

Suspect A. admitted to the possession of the revolver, cartridges and ammunition. He said he had purchased the firearm from his neighbour for US $1,300 in December 2014. From ballistic investigations it emerged that at least four shots had been fired from the revolver.

All three suspects denied involvement in all charges, only admitting to possession of a single firearm. These statements were mirrored by their lawyers, who pleaded for acquittal for lack of evidence.

The court will give its decision August 26. Suspects may have to fear receiving even higher sentences then, as the judge indicated that the Prosecutor had made a mistake in calculating the maximum sentence. According to the judge, under the new Penal Code attempted murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, which may be increased by one third in case of several attempts. This could lead to a sentence to 26 years “in the most favourable case,” the judge indicated.