Tearful looter sent to prison

PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced a tearful Samantha Pereira to 3 weeks in prison for looting electronics that belonged to Boolchand’s between September 5 and September 27 of last year. The 35-year old woman had grabbed a TV, two iPads and a MacBook laptop that other looters had taken from the store and put on the street.

“These items were stolen shortly after the hurricane, “ the judge told the defendant. “You had them with you for three weeks. Why did you not bring them to the police?”

Pereira’s explanation: “They were locking people up. I was afraid.”

When the judge asked her opinion about how to handle this case, the defendant asked for forgiveness. But when the judge asked her whether she considered herself a looter she said no.

The public prosecutor said that the defendant had taken the electronics from the streets. “That’s plain theft,” he said, adding that Pereira is a first offender, that she had cooperated with the investigation, that she had confessed and that she had taken responsibility for her actions. “Other defendants in this case did not have to appear in court. It is odd that this woman is sitting here.”

The prosecutor nevertheless demanded a 3-week prison sentence.

Attorney Marlon hart said that what his client had done, does not amount to stealing. “There was no cooperation with the people who stole these items,” he said.

The judge disagreed: “You took those items from the street and carried them away. That’s theft. Looting has caused damage to retailers, to the reputation of St. Maarten and to the mutual trust among citizens. People were outraged about looting and you are guilty of it. This was not about food but about electronics, based on pure greed. There is no excuse for this and you will go to prison.”