Shipping company director sentenced for illegal firearm

April 17, 2013 3:19 PM

PHILIPSBURG--A 29-year-old co-director of a shipping company was sentenced by the Court of First Instance on Wednesday for possession of an illegal and unlicenced firearm.

 
Maximo R. Mella Slujalkousky confessed that he had a loaded gun hidden in a closet in his bedroom of his apartment on Mountain Dove Road in Pointe Blanche.
 
The weapon was found on March 9, during a search carried out by the Judge of Instruction at the premises of Member of Parliament (MP) Patrick Illidge. The parliamentarian is under suspicion of bribery and other charges in the so-called Bada Bing case.
 
Mella Slujalkousky is renting an apartment in the building, which is owned by Illidge. Mella Slujalkousky was arrested and spent 24 days in detention. His case has no connection with the Bada Bing investigations.
 
With the Courthouse's public gallery filled with family members and friends, among whom Democratic party MP Petrus Leroy de Weever, Mella Slujalkousky, told the Court he had purchased the Glock because he had feared for his safety.
 
"I was robbed a couple of times here in St. Maarten. There's a lot of crime here...I was scared," the defendant told Judge Tamara Tijhuis.
 
The businessman, dressed meticulously in a dark suit with tie, stated he had bought the gun for his own protection and that of his loved ones, among whom his fiancée.
 
Mella Slujalkousky was born in the Dominican Republic and is a holder of a Spanish passport. He is living in St. Maarten since December 2010, but is not registered at the Civil Registry.
 
Prosecutor Dounia Benammar considered the defendant guilty as charged. "He could have installed cameras, bars and alarms to protect his property and his family. I believe that he didn't have bad intentions, but possession of an illegal weapon alone already constitutes a crime," the Prosecutor said.
 
According to Benammar, a suspended sentence would not suffice in this case. The Prosecutor, therefore, requested 12 months, six of which were to be suspended, on two years' probation, with deduction of time already spent.
 
Attorney-at-law Cor Merx claimed the search of his client's apartment had been illegal, because he was not a crime suspect and because Illidge's premises were subjected to a search and not his client's home. Therefore, the evidence procured during the search should not be admitted, Merx said.
 
He also claimed that his client's waiver of the right to an attorney after his arrest had been illegitimate. Merx concluded that the Prosecutor's case against his client should be declared inadmissible. Therefore, his client should be acquitted and his pre-trial detention lifted, said Merx.
 
Benammar maintained that nothing was wrong with the Prosecutor's Office's handling of this case and said that the principles of a fair trial had not been violated.
 
In his pleadings, lawyer Geert Hatzmann focussed on the penalty. He claimed his client didn't have any bad intention. He also pointed to his client's personal circumstances, which in his opinion merited a suspended sentence, community service or a fine.
 
"My client deserves a mild treatment," Hatzmann stated. "He is no criminal and didn't use the weapon to threaten somebody and isn't an ill-tempered person either. He only wanted to protect his fiancée and his family, and doesn't have a criminal record in the United States, the Dominican Republic or Spain."
 
Hatzmann also pointed at certain extenuating circumstances, among which was his client's mother's death. She was shot dead in front of her son's eyes ten years ago. "This caused a trauma for life," the lawyer said.
 
Hatzmann said his client received psychological help ever since. He said the atrocious murder of Michael and Thelma King in September 2012 had been the ultimate reason behind his client's "stupid decision" to buy a gun.
 
Hatzmann said his client did not belong in jail among hardened criminals, and claimed detention would also be detrimental to his client's health.
 
After a short recess, the Judge declared the Prosecutor's case against the defendant admissible. Mella Slujalkousky was found guilty and punishable, but he will not have to go back to prison.
 
The Judge said it was not allowed to purchase unlicenced firearms. "Feelings of insecurity are understandable considering the various incidents, but buying a weapon is wrong. You could have chosen other options," the Judge said, holding it against the defendant that he apparently had had the intention to actually use the gun.
 
Mella Slujalkousky was sentenced to 394 days, 360 of which were suspended, on two years' probation and 100 hours of community service.
 
(The Daily Herald)

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