Three men jailed for brutal robbery

PHILIPSBURG--Three men were sentenced to prison sentences of between four years and six years and five months Wednesday, for having robbed a man in his home during the night of March 2.

Fantonell L. Brown (35) received the heaviest sentence, due to his previous involvement in an armed robbery in 2003, as a result of which the victim died.

Co-defendant Marvin Lewis (29) was sentenced to five years, while Christofer Urbaez (21) will have to sit for four years.

All three defendants denied their involvement in the robbery, but unfortunately for them, the victim knew two of them by name. Among them was Urbaez a.k.a. "Chicken," who had come knocking on the victim's door. After opening the door, four robbers stormed through it and knocked him to the ground. He was threatened with a firearm and a knife, and they tried to tie his hands behind his back.

The victim managed to escape by making use of a moment of inattention to flee into a neighbour's house from where he called the police. The robbers got away in a car, but were stopped a little later.

Two other robbers, who did not stand trial, made away with the loot, consisting of US $3,600 in cash, a gold ring, a laptop and four cell phones.

The defence had called a 39-year-old fireman to testify and provide an alibi for Brown who said he had been in a bar in St. Peters around the time of the robbery. But quizzed by the prosecutor, the man proved unable to provide a correct date and time, which led Judge Monique Keppels to dismiss the alibi.

While in court, Urbaez changed his statements when compared with his previous statements to the Judge of Instruction, probably out of fear of his co-defendants.

Urbaez is currently held at the police station on his own request.

Prosecutor Manon Ridderbeks said there was ample proof for a conviction, and asked for six years and six months for Brown, five years for Lewis, and four years for Urbaez.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/29204-three-men-jailed-for-brutal-robbery.html

Mervyn King Oscars Niclas Alexandersson Mark Bright Robert Schumann Dorset