L’Escargot Restaurant-robber sentenced to 6 years
POSTED: 07/17/14 4:47 PMSt. Maarten – The Court in First Instance sentenced Franklyn Emmanuel Lake yesterday to 6 years of imprisonment for his role in an armed robbery on the owners of L’Escargot restaurant on October 26, 2012. At the trial on June 26, the prosecution demanded 10 years.
The court considered in its ruling that Lake, who was addicted to drugs at the time of the robbery, had made great progress in his commitment to strive for a drug free life during treatment at Turning Point. However, Judge Koos van de Ven also took into account that Lake had been sentenced mildly in December of last year to a wholly conditional 3-year prison sentence for two burglaries and one attempted burglary. Had the robbery and the burglaries been dealt with simultaneously, the court would have punished lake with a 9-year prison sentence with 3 years conditional.
The court considered proven that Lake was one of the robbers. The restaurant-owners were about to leave in their car when the robbers yanked open both doors of the vehicle. One of them shot restaurant-owner Morand who was in the passenger seat and the other robber pulled his wife from the driver’s seat.
Judge van de Ven held it against Lake that he had used violence against his victims who were at the time of the robbery 69 and 70 years of age. Especially the restaurant-owner’s wife suffered – and suffers – severely. She still has hearing problems and now wear a hearing aid, and she has problems to keep her balance – something that cause her a broken hip for which she soon has to be operated again. According to her husband, the lady also suffers psychological effects from the robbery.
