WILLEMSTAD – A 23-year-old security guard has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, eight of which are suspended, after being found guilty of carrying an illegal firearm with ammunition while on duty at a hotel. The ruling was issued this week in a case dating back to October 2024.
The defendant, identified by the initials J.S., had a firearm and four rounds of ammunition in his bag, which was left at his workplace. The weapon was discovered when his supervisor, during the guard’s absence, found the bag in the hotel’s camera room and subsequently alerted the police.
Police arrested J.S. on suspicion of illegal firearm possession. The guard admitted the weapon belonged to him and told authorities he had purchased it for personal protection. He stated that he lives in a neighborhood where problems occur frequently and that his car had previously been vandalized.
J.S. spent 22 days in detention before his pre-trial detention was suspended.
During the court proceedings, the Public Prosecution Service acknowledged that the supervisor was not a police officer and generally does not have the authority to search an employee’s personal bag without consent. However, prosecutors emphasized that illegal possession of a firearm is a serious criminal offense. The prosecution requested an 18-month prison sentence, six months of which would be suspended, with a probation period of three years.
The defense argued that the evidence had been obtained unlawfully, since the bag was private property and the supervisor had no right to inspect it. The judge partially acknowledged this argument but ruled that the seriousness of illegal firearm possession outweighed procedural concerns. In determining the sentence, the court considered both the manner in which the weapon was discovered and the time that had passed since the incident.
Ultimately, the judge imposed an 18-month prison sentence, with eight months suspended.