A Jamaican man, whose initials were released as R.A.M ,was arrested in St Maarten on Monday following police investigations into an armed robbery that occurred in Pointe Blanche, a middle-class community on the southern end of the Dutch colony.

According to the police report, the circumstances leading to the Jamaican's arrest began about 9:15 a.m. Monday when a police patrol received a report that an armed robbery had just taken place. The victim, a local businessman with initials O.L.M. was robbed at gunpoint by two men, one of whom was armed with a shotgun.

The businessman was robbed of his white Suzuki van. According to the witness, inside the van were several bank-deposit bags, bank books, two briefcases and several cases of magazines.

high-speed chase

During the investigation, police received information that the suspects fled the scene in a black Hyundai Sonata. Subsequently, police spotted the vehicle being driven at high speed on the W.G. Buncamper Road. A high-speed chase ensued and eventually ended in the parking lot of a local school in a community called Hope Estate.

Cornered, the suspects unsuccessfully tried to escape by reversing their getaway car, slamming it into the patrol car. The two suspects - D.A.H. from St. Martin (the French side of the island) and M.R. from the Dominican Republic - were arrested on the spot. Police also recovered a sawed-off shotgun and several rounds of ammunition from the vehicle.

As detectives continued their investigation, they unearthed a connection between the suspects held and the Jamaican, who was eventually arrested and taken into police custody. There is no word yet on when the suspects will appear in court.