Court disagrees with way to settle dispute

February 26, 2016 9:44 AM
PHILIPSBURG--The way in which a 45-year-old suspect had attempted to settle a business dispute did not meet with the Court’s approval, it emerged Thursday.
 
Considering theft with violence proven, the defendant was sentenced to two weeks suspended, on two years’ probation.
 
In the incident, which occurred on the parking lot of Tropicana Casino in Cole Bay on December 4, 2015, Clive L. Williams had taken US $400 by force from the victim.
 
For months, he had a business dispute with the man concerning the purchase of four rims for his car. He had purchased the rims for $150. It emerged that the rims would not fit on the wheels of his vehicle, and Williams wanted his money back. This, however, fell on the seller’s deaf ears.
 
On December 4, the two men were both at the casino. After seeing that the victim was lucky and had won some prize money, Williams took his chance. He grabbed a jack handle from his car and confronted the victim.
 
In the ensuing fight several blows were exchanged. The victim also sustained a bite wound to one of his arms. Williams pulled at the victim’s shirt and some of the prize money fell on the ground. Williams grabbed some of it and took off with $400. The next day, he went to the police station to hand over $250, and kept $150 for himself.
 
Prosecutor Maarten Noordzij said that “hitting with sticks” on the public road is not the way to settle “failed civil transactions.”
 
Considering the mild severity of this case and the limited amount of violence that was used, the Prosecutor recommended the Court to sentence the defendant to one month suspended, on three years’ probation.
 
According to defence lawyer Cor Merx, the Prosecutor’s Office’s case should have been declared inadmissible, because a police officer would have informed his client that he would not be prosecuted because he had returned the money. However, as no statement could be found in the case file to sustain this claim, the Judge allowed the case to continue.
 
In pleading for acquittal and for a much lighter sentence, Merx said his client did not have the intention to commit robbery, but had only taken what was his. The lawyer also denied that his client had used the jack handle as a weapon.
 
“This is not the way to settle debts,” the Judge told the Jamaican restaurant owner, whose establishment is closed temporarily due to problems with paper work. He currently is without an income because he is not in possession of an operating licence for his business.
 
An application for a licence has been turned down because his client is not in possession of a rental agreement for his business, Merx explained.
 
Where the case was concerned, the Judge found theft with violence proven, even though the defendant took what was legally his.
 
The Daily Herald

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