Chief Magistrate Teddy St Louis is to sentence four men from Trinidad and Tobago who pleaded guilty to committing grievous harm to Grenada’s reigning World Javelin champion, Anderson Peters.
The four, including Noel Cooper, 42, the captain of the Barbados-owned vessel, Harbour Master, will remain in custody until sentencing.
Cooper, along with John Alexander, 55, Mikhail John, 35, and 28-year-old Sheon Jack, were charged with causing harm with violence and causing grievous harm with violence to the athlete and his brother, Kiddon Peters, a police officer, during a brawl on board the vessel last Wednesday, August 10.
Police had initially announced the arrest of six of the crew members of the vessel, but when the hearing began, the state prosecutors dropped the charges against 40-year-old Abiola Benjamin, who was described as the cruise operations manager on the vessel after video footage was reviewed and indicated that he was trying to separate the men who were engaged in the scuffle.
Media reports said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Christopher Nelson, was among those who reviewed the video footage that was widely circulated on social media.
The other person who had been charged, 45-year-old sailor, Lance Wiggins, pleaded not guilty and the chief magistrate ruled that he was free to leave the court.
The Trinidadians were brought into the St George’s No.1 Magistrate’s Court amidst very tight security by members of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF). They were represented by the former attorney general, Cajeton Hood.
The maximum fine for anyone convicted of causing grievous harm charges is a five-year jail term and a fine of EC$5000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents), while the charge of causing harm with violence carries a maximum one-year jail term and a fine of EC$3,000.
Apart from the criminal charges, the Trinidadians are also facing a civil lawsuit with Peters securing the services of attorney Derick Sylvester.
CMC/
