~ Case against Miguel Arrindell thrown out ~
PHILIPSBURG--Following the death of Hector Miguel Arrindell (32), who was shot and killed Wednesday, the Court of First Instance declared the Prosecutor's case on cocaine-smuggling charges inadmissible, during Thursday's preliminary hearing of the so-called "Snowflake" case.
Cappuccino bar and restaurant owner Arrindell, who was shot in broad daylight, was one of four suspects the Prosecutor's Office is holding responsible for large-scale drugs-smuggling operations.
Prosecutor Leomar Angela requested the judge to declare his case against main suspect Arrindell inadmissible, following the man's "tragic" death.
The trial against the three remaining suspects, among whom is Arrindell's 38-year-old brother, will continue with a preliminary hearing set for August 24, the Court decided, following lawyers' requests to suspend the hearing because the shooting had left their clients in shock.
The defence lawyers are to shed light, on August 24, on the question whether the Prosecutor's Office made unforgivable mistakes in compiling the case file.
Lawyers had already cried foul, on March 23, over the Prosecutor's Office's surprise move to retract a previous request that the judge throw out the case because of irregularities in the file.
In what appeared to be a 180-degree change in position, the Prosecutor then stated that "advanced judgement" had led him to the conclusion that these irregularities had not affected the case.
Judge Monique Keppels had refused to make an immediate decision on the request to declare the case inadmissible, in December 2010. Instead, she ordered additional investigations into the alleged antedating by members of the Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST of documents that marked the start of investigations into the large-scale drugs-smuggling operations.
Prosecutor Bart den Hartigh had said at the time that the antedating had been done "deliberately and on purpose," and was beyond repair. "This affects the administration of justice, which means there will no longer be a fair trial," Den Hartigh had said, before asking the judge to throw out the cases.
The suspects' detention has been lifted since December 1, 2010.
After presenting a voluminous dossier to the Court on March 23, Prosecutor Angela stated that the document had indeed been "erroneously antedated," but added that this "grave mistake" had been repaired and had not caused any infringement of the suspects' right to a fair trial.
It is expected that the defendants' lawyers will try to convince the judge otherwise during the August 24 hearing.
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