Haitian gang dude convicted.

[NanSanPedro]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/...-charges-hostage-taking-16-american-christian

WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 32, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was found guilty today by a federal jury in the District of Columbia for his role in orchestrating the 2021 hostage taking of 16 American citizens, including five children, and holding them hostage for 62 days.

The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryan James of the Miami Field Office.

“This office will fight aggressively to protect Americans who are taken hostage and abused, and to uphold the religious freedoms of our people, including Christians. As the evidence demonstrated, Joly Germine orchestrated a plot that leveraged American Christian missionaries as bargaining chips to try to secure his own release from a Haitian prison,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “When you commit crimes against Americans in other countries, it makes no difference where you are — we are coming for you. Justice may not always be swift but it is certain.”
“This conviction demonstrates the FBI’s determination to follow the evidence wherever it leads and to work our way up to the leaders of criminal plots wherever they are. Haitian gang leader and convicted kidnapper Joly Germine found out he was not beyond the reach of the FBI,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge James. “Neither time nor distance will weaken our resolve. We will use all tools available and go to farthest reaches of the globe to bring to justice those who kidnap Americans.”

Following a 10-day trial in U.S. District Court, the jury found Germine guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking and 16 counts of hostage taking of a U.S. national for ransom.

The former leader and self-described “king” of the notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo, Germine previously pleaded guilty to his role in a gun trafficking conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws and the laundering of the gang’s funds derived from ransoms paid for other U.S. hostage victims. For those crimes, he was sentenced in June 2024 to 35 years in federal prison.

Germine’s gang, 400 Mawozo, operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Germine directed the gang’s operations from prison using unmonitored cell phones and was constantly in touch with other 400 Mawazo leaders, most of whom were his relatives. Germine controlled the gang’s finances, supplied the gang’s weapons, and otherwise directed operations.

On October 16, 2021, 17 Mennonite missionaries from Christian Aid Ministries, an Ohio-based missionary aid organization, were returning from visiting an orphanage when they were stopped by 400 Mawozo’s armed and masked soldiers. Many of the gang’s soldiers were brandishing firearms supplied by Germine. The group included 12 adults and 5 children, including a 6-year-old, 3-year-old, and an 8-month-old. Sixteen of the victims were U.S. citizens and one was a Canadian citizen.

The gang drove the missionaries to a field and robbed them, while consulting by phone with Germine, their leader. The gang took the missionaries to a building in a rural area, held them at gunpoint, and demanded ransom of $1 million each for their return. In postings on social media, the gang threatened to kill all the hostages if the ransom was not paid. Early on in the negotiations, senior gang leadership said that, in lieu of the ransom monies, 400 Mawozo would accept Germine’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages.

On November 20, 2021, two hostages were released after one was suffering from life-threatening health conditions. On December 5, 2021, 400 Mawozo released three of the hostages, two adults who had significant medical issues and the six-year old child, after receiving a $350,000 ransom payment. Though the gang had stated they would release all the hostages for the ransom paid, at Germine’s direction, the gang thereafter refused to release any more hostages. On December 16, 2021, the remaining hostages escaped under cover of darkness while their captors were distracted, walking for five hours through the Haitian bush until they were out of the gang’s territory. They were received by the FBI, which had deployed to Haiti and arranged to immediately transport them from Haiti before the gang could respond to their escape. In total, most of the missionaries were held for 62 days.

The evidence at trial showed that Germine had directed the initial kidnapping, had arranged for the locations where hostages were held, and set the $17 million ransom demand, knowing it was too high to be paid and would result in the Haitian government negotiating his release from prison in exchange for the missionaries. The evidence also showed that Germine was involved in or consulted on the decisions to release victims.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. During the law enforcement response to the kidnapping, extraordinary assistance was provided in a whole of government response by various agencies, including Customs and Border Protection Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Defense, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Valuable assistance was provided by the government of Haiti, the government of the Dominican Republic, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department of State and the Embassy in Port-au-Prince, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Tom Saunders and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas for the District of Columbia, with invaluable assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall, Victim Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Victim Witness Coordinators Tonya Jones and Guisela Castillo.

Time for the penalty phase of the trial.

 

[CristoRey]

Mentions nothing about his capture and extradition to the USA.
Was he convicted in abstentia?

Is this dirtbag still running around free in that shithole?

 

[SKY]

Mentions nothing about his capture and extradition to the USA.
Was he convicted in abstentia?

Is this dirtbag still running around free in that shithole?

There is no such thing in the US as being convicted in abstentia. He had to be in court............

This shows him in the US................

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article306404141.html

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

There is no such thing in the US as being convicted in abstentia. He had to be in court............

This shows him in the US................

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article306404141.html

We should probably agree that no one here is abstaining from anything. In absentia, perhaps.

 

[playacaribe2]

Mentions nothing about his capture and extradition to the USA.
Was he convicted in abstentia?

Is this dirtbag still running around free in that shithole?

He was already in US federal prison for convictions involving gun smuggling to Haiti. The OP article was his second case and conviction for the kidnapping event of the missionaries in Haiti. Suffice to say if he is sentenced consecutively from his first conviction, he will only be returning home to be buried.

As to in abstentia, it did not apply here as he was already in custody/prison. In abstentia convictions are allowed in both federal and state courts in narrow criminal circumstances, but more widely used in immigration cases for those who fail to appear for their asylum cases.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[SKY]

He was already in US federal prison for convictions involving gun smuggling to Haiti. The OP article was his second case and conviction for the kidnapping event of the missionaries in Haiti. Suffice to say if he is sentenced consecutively from his first conviction, he will only be returning home to be buried.

As to in abstentia, it did not apply here as he was already in custody/prison. In abstentia convictions are allowed in both federal and state courts in narrow criminal circumstances, but more widely used in immigration cases for those who fail to appear for their asylum cases.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Mann , the Second Circuit held that “Though federal rule of criminal procedure prohibits federal trials in-absentia where defendant is not present at beginning of trial, the Constitution itself does not prohibit trial from being commenced in defendant's absence so long as defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives his appearance..................

 

[playacaribe2]

Mann , the Second Circuit held that “Though federal rule of criminal procedure prohibits federal trials in-absentia where defendant is not present at beginning of trial, the Constitution itself does not prohibit trial from being commenced in defendant's absence so long as defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives his appearance..................

Exactly. So contrary to what was said above, in abstentia is allowed, as I said, “in narrow criminal circumstances” i.e., if a defendant is arraigned, posts bail and flees. In that circumstance and other narrowly drawn circumstances, in abstentia convictions are allowed.

The last big named in abstentia case was a state case in California…….Andrew Luster, an heir to the Max Factor makeup empire.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[SKY]

Exactly. So contrary to what was said above, in abstentia is allowed, as I said, “in narrow criminal circumstances” i.e., if a defendant is arraigned, posts bail and flees. In that circumstance and other narrowly drawn circumstances, in abstentia convictions are allowed.

The last big named in abstentia case was a state case in California…….Andrew Luster, an heir to the Max Factor makeup empire.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Yes he was but the rule now is this.

Generally, a defendant cannot be tried in absentia, meaning they cannot be tried without being present, unless they have voluntarily absented themselves after the trial has begun. Fleeing before trial does not constitute voluntary absence after trial has begun..

 

[playacaribe2]

Yes he was but the rule now is this.

Generally, a defendant cannot be tried in absentia, meaning they cannot be tried without being present, unless they have voluntarily absented themselves after the trial has begun. Fleeing before trial does not constitute voluntary absence after trial has begun..

In abstentia is used very broadly in civil cases involving immigration. Under the Immigration Naturalization Act, judges have broad discretion in that matter.

Keeping this DR or Haiti related it has been used countless times and thousands of those who failed to show at immigration trial proceedings and been ordered to be removed are currently being sought by the present administration for deportation. The frequency of flights to Santo Domingo have increased since January,


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[SKY]

In abstentia is used very broadly in civil cases involving immigration. Under the Immigration Naturalization Act, judges have broad discretion in that matter.

Keeping this DR or Haiti related it has been used countless times and thousands of those who failed to show at immigration trial proceedings and been ordered to be removed are currently being sought by the present administration for deportation. The frequency of flights to Santo Domingo have increased since January,


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

You will agree that this thread is not an immigration matter, but a Criminal matter. And in that context he could not have been tried on any Criminal charge in the US if he was running around free in Haiti. That is what we ARE talking about in this thread........ NOT immigration.............

 

[playacaribe2]

You will agree that this thread is not an immigration matter, but a Criminal matter. And in that context he could not have been tried on any Criminal charge in the US if he was running around free in Haiti. That is what we ARE talking about in this thread........ NOT immigration.............

Actually, the thread is not about either.

I just answered a question posed by another poster concerning “in abstentia” convictions in the US being allowed and then to correct the mis information in post #3.

Have a nice evening.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

 

[CristoRey]

Actually, the thread is not about either.

I just answered a question posed by another poster concerning “in abstentia” convictions in the US being allowed and then to correct the mis information in post #3.

Have a nice evening.

Respectfully,
Playacaribe2

Honestly, I was feeling rather lazy earlier. Should have done a little research first prior to asking the question. Either way, this dirtbag earned his taxpayer funded vacation at Club Fed (federal penitentiary)
Good riddance.