LIMA, Peru (AP) — Joran van der Sloot knew his guilty plea in the strangulation death of a young woman he met at a Lima casino was a big gamble as he tried to get a reduced sentence. On Friday, the poker-loving Dutchman lost.
A three-judge panel sentenced him to 28 years in prison, discarding his claims of contrition in a killing his lawyer said was triggered by trauma from being the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway.
Joran van der Sloot arrives to the courtroom for his sentence at San Pedro prison in Lima, Peru, Friday Jan. 13, 2012. Van der Sloot will be sentenced Friday for the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores, a young woman he met at a Lima casino. Prosecutors have asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
Asked if he accepted the sentence, Van der Sloot, standing in a green T-shirt and faded jeans in a hot Lima courtroom, said he would appeal.
The sentencing marked the latest chapter in the tabloid-sustaining saga and came a day after a judge in Alabama declared Holloway legally dead as her parents try to bring Van der Sloot, 24, to the U.S. for a related crime.
“I believe he is beyond rehabilitation,” Dave Holloway in Birmingham, Ala., after that hearing.
The Peruvian judges said Friday that due to time already served, van der Sloot’s sentence would end in June 2038.
While the parents of Holloway and Flores want him to experience the greater deprivation of a U.S. prison, they will have to wait for him to serve his time before any extradition on U.S. charges related to his alleged extortion of Holloway’s mother, a Peruvian legal expert said.
Late Friday, prison authorities told the AP that Van der Sloot had been transferred to the high-security Piedras Gordas prison in northern Lima in response to reports that he had enjoyed privileges like television, internet access and a cell phone in Castro Castro prison. Piedras Gordas holds local crime bosses and terrorism convicts, including Shining Path guerrillas.
“He will be in an individual cell at Piedras Gordas to give authorities greater control of him and cut off some of the facilities he has had in Castro Castro,” said prison service spokeswoman Janeth Sanchez.
Earlier Friday, the three female judges showed no sign of believing his contrition for the May 2010 killing of Stephany Flores. Their sentence, which took a clerk nearly two hours to read as Van der Sloot repeatedly wiped sweat from his brow, said he was guilty of “first-degree murder with aggravating factors of ferocity and great cruelty.”
Van der Sloot stood passively as the clerk detailed how he elbowed Flores, a 21-year-old business student, in the face, beat her repeatedly, then strangled her with his bloodied shirt.
Van der Sloot’s expression didn’t change when the sentence was rendered, including the judges’ order to pay $75,000 in reparations to the victim’s family. No members of Van der Sloot’s family attended the trial.
It is the first sentence ever imposed on Van der Sloot despite repeated efforts to prove he was involved in Holloway’s apparent death on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba where he grew up. She was last seen leaving a nightclub with him.
The Peruvian victim’s father, Ricardo Flores, complained after the sentencing that Van der Sloot was living well in a Lima prison, where he has been segregated from the general population.
“A jail isn’t a five-star hotel,” Ricardo Flores told reporters. “Since the first day, we’ve been complaining about the excessive privileges” Van der Sloot allegedly enjoyed in jail.
Unconfirmed news reports, denied by penal authorities, say Van der Sloot has had a cell phone, television, a video gaming console and Internet access in his cell. A Peruvian TV station published a photo Friday it says was taken by Van der Sloot himself of his prison cell that shows a 42-inch LCD television, a Blu-ray player and an Internet modem.
Flores said that “everything they showed on the TV has been proven” but that he would not have documentation of it to present to the news media until Monday.
Van der Sloot’s attorney, Jose Jimenez, said he is not familiar with his client’s prison cell.
As in many developing nations, foreigners with money can buy superior treatment in Peru’s prisons, including decent food, while the vast majority of inmates suffer overcrowding and constant peril from criminal gangs.
Under Peru’s penal system, Van der Sloot could become eligible for parole after serving half the sentence with good behavior, including work and study. The judges specified that Van der Sloot, as a foreigner, be expelled from Peru after serving his sentence.
Peruvian criminal law expert Luis Lamas said Peru’s legal code specifies that Van der Sloot serve his time before he can be extradited.
But Ken Randall, dean of University of Alabama law school, said he believes Peru’s extradition treaty with the United States would allow for Van der Sloot to be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial on the extortion and fraud charges before his sentence ends.
“In this extraordinary case of Natalee Holloway, Peru would be well advised to do so,” he said.
There is no indication U.S. officials have moved to seek to extradite Van der Sloot.
Van der Sloot was indicted on those charges in Alabama the same day he was arrested for the Flores murder. He is accused of accepting $25,000 in return for a promise to lead a lawyer for Holloway’s mother to her daughter’s remains.
Van der Sloot didn’t deliver on the offer, and U.S. authorities say he may have used some of the money to fly to Peru two weeks before the Flores murder. After killing the Lima woman, he took nearly $300 in cash from Flores as well as credit cards, and was captured four days later in Chile.
Van der Sloot told police he flew into a rage when she discovered his connection to Holloway while they were playing online poker in his hotel room. He had received an instant message from someone about the case.
Police forensic experts disputed that story, and the judges who sentenced him noted that Van der Sloot later recanted the confession, claiming it was exacted under duress and without an official translator. The victim’s family contends Van der Sloot killed Flores so he could rob her.
The imposing young man raised on a tourist island has been a staple of tabloids and true crime TV, as well as the subject of several books about Holloway.
The 18-year-old from a wealthy Birmingham suburb disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip. Her body was never found and repeated searches turned up nothing even as the case garnered worldwide attention.
Van der Sloot said he was involved in her disappearance in a videotape clandestinely made by a Dutch journalist. He later denied it, however, and has told several interviewers that he is a pathological liar. A homicide investigation into her death remains open in Aruba though there has been no recent activity, officials said.
Associated Press Writers Martin Villena, Carla Salazar and Franklin Briceno contributed to this report.
Joran Van der Sloot/Natalie Holloway
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The parents of Natalee Holloway looked on somberly as a judge on Thursday declared their child dead, more than six years after the American teenager vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. “We’ve been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years,” Dave Holloway said after a brief hearing. He said the judge’s order closes one chapter in a long ordeal, but added: “We’ve still got a long way to go to get justice.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — Federal prosecutors are seeking a reduction in the 27-year prison sentence being served by a Haitian cocaine lord because of his assistance in other drug-related cases.
Jacques Beaudouin Ketant
A judge in Miami set a February hearing in the case of 48-year-old Beaudoin Ketant. Prosecutors say he has provided information leading to prosecution of other drug traffickers and corrupt Haitian police officers and politicians. Haiti is a key shipping point for cocaine and other drugs from South America through the Caribbean.
Ketant once accused former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide of complicity in the cocaine trade. Aristide was never charged and his attorney in the U.S. has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Ketant pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in 2003. He’s currently set for release from prison in 2026.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic—Authorities in the Dominican Republic on Thursday auctioned off 27 luxury watches that once belonged to an alleged drug boss known as the “Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean.”
Each watch was sold for less than half its market value for a total of roughly $600,000, said Julio Cesar Suffront, financial investigations director for the National Drug Control Agency.
"Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean"
The watches were taken to experts in Miami and valued at between $5,000 and $85,000 each, he said.
They were the first items seized from Jose David Figueroa Agosto to be auctioned. The accused druglord also owned 20 properties and 10 luxury cars, including a special edition Camaro that runs on jet fuel and cost more than $75,000.
The money made from the auctions will be distributed to several government agencies and drug rehabilitation centers in the Dominican Republic.
Agosto was arrested in Puerto Rico in July 2010 after a nearly 10-year manhunt following his escape in 1999 from a prison in the U.S. Caribbean territory.
He is accused of shipping Colombian cocaine to the U.S. mainland through Puerto Rico. He also faces several murder charges in the Dominican Republic.
Agosto has been compared with Escobar, a notorious cocaine kingpin from Colombia who was killed in 1993.
SANTO DOMINGO.- The Justice Ministry’s Anti-laundering Unit Tuesday announced that RD$800.0 million worth of personal and real estate properties were seized in 2011, and have identified more than RD$300 million in others of ongoing cases, to be confiscated in the next few days.
A report by Unit director German Miranda cites 30 nationwide investigations thus far, 19 international and 12 with foreign legal cooperation which have led to the confiscation of real estate including apartments located in the Baní Dunes, and a Cessna plane in the airport at Higuero.
The Ferrari seized from Puerto Rican convict Jose Figueroa Agosto.
He said also seized from Santiago drug traffickers were the 41 storefront Plaza Garden, located in the Duarte highway exit to San Francisco, a 16 apartment condo of the same name, a nine story building in construction, another four floors, with eight apartments, and a 154,068,68 square meter tract of land in the name of Patria de Jesus Marte.
It also cites properties confiscated from Jose Marte, including three houses, three lots total more than 1,200 square meters, a farm in Hatillo, San Francisco with steer and wild boars.
Among the assets seized from Colombian hired killers figure an apart-hotel Caribbean Sun Residencial, in Costambar, Puerto Plata, a three level villa located in the municipality Puñal, one in Joaquin Balaguer avenue, an apartment in Cerros de Gurabo, and a farm in the crossing of Guayacanes.
AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) federal law enforcement authorities along seized $190,000, a 5.56mm semi-automatic weapon, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition a from inside a single engine yola type vessel, north west of Puerto Rico Wednesday night.
At midnight, Wednesday a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Maritime Patrol Aircraft detected a vessel approximately 60 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Rico. The vessel had no visible registration, flag or markings.
CBP personnel coordinated with watch-standers at Coast Guard Sector San Juan to intercept the vessel at sea. An HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami and Coast Guard Cutter Cushing were diverted to interdict the vessel.
HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft. Photo www.aero-news.net
Cutter Cushing boarding team members located approximately $190,000, the weapon, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition.
The five individuals on board the vessel claimed to be citizens of the Dominican Republic.
Cushing crewmembers team took custody of the five suspects aboard the vessel, currency, and weapon and transported them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations at Arecibo for further investigation Thursday at the Mayaguez Sea Port, Puerto Rico.
GFBC NEWS NETWORK
December 24, 2011
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit
Various media outlets are reporting that Buju may be soon set free, however before we set a parade date let’s consider what is necessary to facilitate our hopes. Quoting the Jamaica Observer, it was reported on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 that “Violations of the act, such as where the state has failed to bring the case to trial for an ‘unreasonable’ length of time, may be a cause for dismissal of a criminal case.”
Buju Banton and David Markus
Buju’s attorney stated: “The prosecution will respond within the next 30-60 days and then we will file a reply. The court of appeals will then decide whether to have an oral argument on the case, which it will most likely set sometime in late summer. After that, it generally takes 6-9 months to get a decision. Sometimes even longer,”
In addition, The Court of Appeals must determine that an alleged violation of the constitutional right to speedy trial must be analyzed using the factors as set forth in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972)
Prejudice to the Defendant. The prejudice factor weighs “most heavily in determining whether a defendant’s constitutional rights have been violated. Simmons v. State, 290 Ga. App. 315 (2008). In evaluating any prejudice to the defendant, the court must consider: (1) oppressive pretrial incarceration; (2) anxiety and concern to the accused; and (3) the possibility of harm to the accused’s defense. The third factor is the most serious “because the inability of a defendant adequately to prepare his case skews the fairness of the entire system.” Harris v. State, 284 Ga. 455 (2008). Georgia courts have found that a delay of five years or more may lead to a finding of actual prejudice relieving the defendant of having to show specific prejudice in his case. Moore v. State, 294 Ga. App. 570 (2008). The Court of Appeals held that the trial judge in Moses did not abuse its discretion in finding either actual prejudice by the 48 month delay or specific prejudice because of the potential affect on the memory and credibility of alibi witnesses, nor was the judge wrong in finding actual prejudice by the 5 year delay in Pickett.
According to Vibe.com Buju will be released from prison soon, however it may take from 6-9 months minimum before a response is received. Although, we pray for Buju’s release six to nine months for a response at the least is not soon. As my father would say ” who feels it knows it”, as Buju already told you, “It’s not an easy road”. So put yourself in Buju’s shoes and embrace the facts. Tune into GFBC for unbiased, objective and factual reporting.
GFBC NEWS NETWORK
December 22, 2011
U.S. v. Stanford, 09-cr-342, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Allen Stanford
Allen Stanford, will stand trial next month in a Houston courtroom to face charges of fraud and that he he swindled investors of more than $7 billion, a U.S. judge ruled. The trial is to begin with jury selection on Jan. 23. former prominent financier and sponsor of professional sports who is in prison awaiting trial on charges his investment company was a massive Ponzi scheme and fraud. Stanford was the chairman of the now defunct Stanford Financial Group of Companies. A fifth-generation Texan who once resided in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, he holds dual citizenship, being a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and a United States citizen.
Stanfords counsel argued that he was mentally unfit, U.S. District Judge David Hittner stated ““I have found by a preponderance of the evidence that Stanford is competent to stand trial,”. Stanford was sent back to a Houston lockup in November after Butner medical officials certified him competent to stand trial.
Prosecutors say Stanford skimmed more than $1 billion of investor funds to acquire a fleet of jets and yachts, multiple mansions and a private Caribbean island, as well as to give money to women with whom he had children.
GFBC NEWS NETWORK
December 22, 2011
Photo Credit: Bank of America Fraud.com
Bank of America, the largest bank in the U.S., has agreed to pay $335 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit.
The suit charged that Countrywide Financial, which was purchased by Bank of America in 2008, discriminated against minorities by steering them towards high-risk sub-prime mortgages from 2004 to 2008 even though they qualified for less-risky prime loans.
“These institutions should make judgments based on applicants’ creditworthiness, not on the color of their skin,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “With today’s settlement, the federal government will ensure that the more than 200,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers who were discriminated against by Countrywide will be entitled to compensation.”
The alleged discrimination took place from 2004 to 2007, when Countrywide was racking up profits as the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lender. But the company nearly collapsed in 2008 and was purchased by BofA in a $2 billion distressed sale.
GFBC NEWS NETWORK
December 16, 2011
International Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton claims in an appeal of his federal drug conviction there was not enough evidence to prove he was involved in a cocaine conspiracy. Mark Myrie a/k/a Buju Banton is trying to appeal a sentence of 10 years in a federal prison. Banton was recently sentenced in June for the intent to distribute cocaine. Banton’s gun possession charge was later tossed; however his attorney contends that the fight from Buju’s freedom is far from over and makes his argument why Buju’s sentence should be overturned.
Buju Banton
The appeal filed Friday by attorney David O. Markus also says Banton was relentlessly pursued by a federal informant seeking a $50,000 government payday. Markus says that resulted in improper entrapment. Buju’s appeal was filed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Buju is currently serving his sentence in a penal facility in Miami Florida after United District States Magistrate James Moody sanctioned his move from minimum security facility in Texas. It has been reported that Buju is in better spirits since being relocated to the Federal Correction Institution (FCI-Miami). A three member panel of appellate judges in Georgia will decide if Buju’s case qualifies for an appeal. Approximately three-fourths of the court’s cases are decided on the briefs submitted by the parties, while the remaining cases include oral argument. Oral arguments are held in the Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia and are open to the public.
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