Tourist-killer Samedi sentenced to 18 years
PHILIPSBURG – Less than a year after Canadian tourist Sylvain Valade (see photo) died during an armed robbery near the Drift Wood Bar on Beacon Hill Road, the Court in First Instance sentenced his killer, 19-year old Guy Mathurin Samedi to 18 years in prison.
Of his two accomplices, Keeano Hastin Shandon Richardson (20) received the heaviest punishment: a 4-year prison sentence. The other one, identified because of his age only as J.S.E., was just sixteen at the time of the fatal robbery. The court sentenced him to 24 months of youth detention of which 14 months are suspended. The youngster also has to go in therapy.
The robbery took place on June 5, 2019, on Beacon Hill Road, just after 11 p.m. Armed with a gun provided by Richardson, Samedi confronted Valade who was in the company of his now 19-year old daughter Yanie. A struggle followed whereby Valade put up a fight to protect his daughter. Samedi fired a shot that hit the Canadian in his head. The robber fled with Yanie’s bag in a car driven by J.S.E.
Valade was flown to Florida for medical treatment but he passed away a few days later. The emotional experience inspired his daughter Yanie to release a video on Facebook, sharing her nightmarish experience and her sorrow about the loss of her beloved father.
“The images are constantly turning in my head and the sound of the shot haunts me,” she said. “My beloved papa, you left as a hero. You saved my life and you protected me until your last breath, just like you always did.”
The 48-year old victim was from Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, a town north of Montreal.
The public prosecutor demanded 16 years against Samedi but the court arrived at a higher sentence based on proof for manslaughter, theft with the use of violence and firearm possession.
During the trial Samedi and young J.S.E. pointed at each other as the shooter but video footage confirmed that it was Samedi who got into the getaway car with Yanie Valade’s bag shortly after the robbery. Therefore, the court considered it proven that Samedi had fired the shot.
The court found Richardson guilty of providing the car and the gun to Samedi, and identified E. as the driver that took the shooter to the place of the robbery and facilitated his escape. Samedi has a previous conviction for robbery for which he served time in prison in Guadeloupe.
The three defendants were furthermore sentenced to pay damages to Salvade’s daughter to the tune of approximately $26,800.
