PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Court of First Instance has sentenced D.F.H. to a total of six years’ imprisonment in connection with a series of supermarket robberies committed between October 2025 and March 2026. The Court found it proven that D.F.H. committed six robberies targeting Chinese-owned supermarkets. Two of the supermarkets were robbed twice during the period covered by the case.
On Thursday, July 2, 2026, the Court imposed a sentence of six years’ imprisonment for the offences in this case. In addition, it ordered the enforcement of a previously suspended two-year prison sentence imposed in December 2024 in connection with an earlier robbery conviction, bringing the total term of imprisonment to eight years.
The Court acquitted the defendant of the charge of unlawful weapons possession. According to the judgment, the object used during the robberies was a power drill that resembled a firearm. While the Court found that the use of the drill caused the victims to believe they were being threatened with a firearm, it concluded that the object did not constitute a weapon under the relevant criminal provision.
In determining the sentence, the Court considered the serious nature of the offences and the fear and insecurity experienced by the victims. The Court also took into account that the object used was not an actual firearm, although this did not lessen the impact on the victims.
