Prosecutor asks five years for gunfight

PHILIPSBURG--The prosecutor asked five years against a man who had been involved in a gunfight in St. Peters on September 23, 2010.

S.M.C. (28) was charged with possession of an illegal firearm and of attempted manslaughter of 24-year-old F.R.L.G. in a drive-by shooting which took place at 9:00am at the intersection of Apricot Road and Marigot Hill Road, near Milton Peters College.

F.R.L.G. will have to answer to similar charges, as well as three armed robbery charges. His court hearing was postponed until March 23.

S.M.C. told Judge Monique Keppels on Thursday afternoon that he had been in a feud with F.R.L.G. since 2005, after he had stolen his brother's scooter.

Lawyer Geert Hatzmann told the court that S.M.C. and his brother had almost lost their lives when F.R.L.G. had slammed his car into the scooter on which S.M.C. and his brother were riding. The two siblings were both injured and hospitalised.

In July 2010, F.R.L.G. had allegedly fired three shots from the bushes at the car in which S.M.C. had been driving. S.M.C. had reported the incident to the police, but seeing that his assailant was not taken off the streets, he had decided to buy a firearm.

September last year he encountered his assailant again. He had decided to take a spin through the neighbourhood, after he had bought a newspaper for his mother. When he encountered F.R.L.G. he started firing at him. One of the shots hit one of the rear doors of his vehicle. While driving by, S.M.C. fired six rounds with his revolver. Two bullets hit F.R.L.G. in his leg.

According to Prosecutor Ben den Hartigh, the angle of the shot fired at S.M.C.'s car would be indicating that it was fired by F.R.L.G. while he was already down, which would mean S.M.C. shot first.

The Prosecutor considered attempted manslaughter proven, and rejected claims that the suspect had been acting in self-defence.

S.M.C. was of a different opinion. "I just shot to get away and to scare him. He was aiming directly at me," he told the judge.

Attorney Hatzmann claimed his client had been the victim of two previous attempts on his life. "My client was desperate because F.R.L.G. wanted to take his life," said Hatzmann. He pleaded self-defence and cited psychological circumstances beyond his client's control as reasons for his client's dismissal. The judge will give her decision on January 26.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/12414-prosecutor-asks-five-years-for-gunfight.html

Dubai Pakistan cricket betting scandal Andy Flower Gender Kanye West Manchester City