The trial of the four robbers who caused a shooting in downtown Cayenne was held this week. During the exchange of fire, one of the robbers was seriously injured. Transported to Cayenne hospital, he died there. The defendants received sentences ranging from 16 to 30 years.
The affair took place at the corner of Lallouette and Arago streets, in Cayenne at the foot of the Externat Saint-Joseph college, in the middle of the school holidays. »And fortunately! », Repeated several times, the Attorney General, as she returned to the facts which brought Whitmark Simon, Akim Pompey, Clint Gobin and Dason Jupiter to the benches of court. The first three were prosecuted for attempted murder of a person holding public authority. All were arrested for theft with weapons, transport of weapons and ammunition.
Back to the facts. This July 8, 2021, five men were spotted by Pascal Giraud and Patrice Sabino, police officers on motorcycles, aboard a vehicle, at the corner of Lallouette and Arago streets. During school hours, at this location, the sidewalk and the street are the scene of the comings and goings of middle school students. This time, the roadway will host a deadly ballet.
•
©DR
The vehicle, stopped at a red light, corresponds to the one used during a series of violent robberies in the previous days. Also the police come closer, indicating their function. They are greeted by gunfire from behind the car. They retaliate immediately. The passenger seated in the front gets out of the car, gun in hand and seems to be looking for the police officer who is sheltering behind a door.
The driver, caught in the crossfire, was hit in the head and arm. His name: Bayron Kouachi. He died from his injuries at the Cayenne Hospital Center. He was not 24 years old. In total, twelve bullet holes were noted.
•
©AV
Arrested all four the same day, Whitmark Simon, Akim Pompey, Clint Gobin and Dason Jupiter were tried at the assizes this week, all for violence with the use or threat of a weapon followed, for some, by incapacity, theft organized gang with weapon and transport without legitimate reason of weapons. To the misdeeds accused of Whitmark Simon, Akim Pompey, Clint Gobin, it was also necessary to add the attempted murder of people in authority.
-In recent days, some victims have testified, recounting the robberies, under gunpoint and the gratuitous violence of the gang. Woe to him who does not allow his rings to be easily removed : he will be the subject of an outburst of violence which will break his hand. People robbed in one of the trendy restaurants in the Hibiscus zone in Cayenne ? Their car keys will be stolen and thrown into the canal.
This Friday morning, during her requisitions, the Attorney General underlined the feeling of terror which still inhabits the people who faced this gang, determined not to integrate into society. She demanded heavy sentences : life imprisonment for three of them, those accused of attempted murder of persons in authority, Whitmark Simon, Akim Pompey, Clint Gobin, and up to 18 years for Dason Jupiter.
Defense lawyers stressed the harshness of the sentences requested and urged jurors not to decide based on their emotions. Their voices carried little weight: if life imprisonment was not imposed, the sentences were substantial.
Whitmark Simon, the first to open fire, and Akim Pompey, who went out to look for the police officer, gun in hand, were sentenced to 30 years in prison. They were found guilty of all charges, including the attempted murder of the police officers, Patrice Sabino and Pascal Giraud. Their accomplice, Clint Gobin, was not found guilty of attempted murder of a person holding public authority, but he received 28 years of criminal imprisonment for all the rest of his misdeeds. Dason Jupiter, the only one in the gang who did not use his weapon, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
All will be returned to the penitentiary center. Originally from Suriname and Guyana, they were also all banned from entering French territory. They all have ten days to appeal this decision.
