Pipersburg and Robateau sentenced to hang
Convicted murderers Leslie Pipersburg and Patrick Robateau are tonight on death row. At approximately eleven-forty this morning Justice Troadio Gonzalez handed down sentences for the two men declaring that the “brutally committed” and “heinous” murders were incomprehensible and he could find no good reason to temper justice with mercy. Justice Gonzalez then told each man his fate: four death sentences, one for each of their murder victims, and twenty years for the attempted murder of another. In the eerie silence while the verdict was read, six words reverberated in the packed courtroom: hang by the neck until dead. While hot tears spilled from the eyes of their loved ones, Pipersburg and Robateau said nothing.
On March fifteenth twenty-eight year old Patrick Robateau and thirty year old Leslie Pipersburg were convicted of the quadruple homicide and attempted murder by a jury of seven men and five women. Although they were cold blooded killers in the eyes the public, attorney for the defendants, Linsbert Willis, in just under two hours of mitigation pleas, tried to paint a radically different picture of his clients. Willis said prior to their conviction both men had made positive impacts on society and earned the respect of their families and friends. That, yes they both had brushes with the law, but those paled in comparison to their convictions. Both men, he said, were forced to work from an early age because home finances prevented them from furthering their education beyond high school. Through their attorney, the defendants maintained that quote, “they feel sorry for the grief caused by the deaths of David Flores, Cherrymae Tucker, Fidel Mai, and Kevin Alvarez, and the shooting of Karl Ventura… Their remorse cannot be overemphasized,” said the lawyer.
Willis then called two witnesses as character references to the stand to reinforce his argument: Leonardo Pott, Robateau’s uncle and Geraldine Flowers, Pipersburg’s mother-in-law. Both claimed the defendants were hardworking, family men, loving and quiet in disposition. Each expressed “shock” at the news that the men had been involved in such acts. Flowers begged the court for pity, maintaining that Pipersburg was “the best son-in-law a mother-in-law could ever have.” On his nephew’s behalf, Pott told the court that Robateau was a responsible father to his four children and was well liked by a number of friends.
But when Justice Gonzalez offered the defendants the opportunity to make their own statements from the dock, their response was surprising. Pipersburg rose and told the court, “I never did that crime.” Robateau said, “Even though those twelve people find me guilty, the police violated my rights, no fingerprints were taken.” But Justice Gonzalez could hear none of it because as he told both men, this was not the time for that, this was sentencing and the men could only ask the court not to impose the death sentence. Both men declined to say anything more to the court.
At this point, Justice Gonzalez excused himself, to return more than a half an hour later with his decision. Gonzalez told the men that he had considered the pleas for mercy, the evidence before the court, and their criminal record, but could find no extenuating circumstances to persuade him not to sentence them to death.
After the verdict was read, attorney Linsbert Willis told News 5 that he believes his clients will be filing an appeal within the required twenty-one days, but he will not be representing them in that effort. If and when that appeal reaches the highest level of our judicial system, it is likely that the final decision will be made, not by the Privy Council in London, but the newly created Caribbean Court of Justice sitting in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
