Four ‘gay bashing’ suspects to be
charged with attempted murder
PHILIPSBURG--The handling of the trial dealing with the April 6 incident in which two gay men were attacked and severely beaten in the Maho Bay area was postponed until October 31, it was decided in the Court of First Instance yesterday.
Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein requested a postponement of the trial to allow the hearing of one of the complainants, Ryan Smith.
Smith and Richard Jefferson, employees of the CBS News show 48 Hours, were both beaten severely by a group of people. Jefferson recovered shortly after the incident and was able to testify to the police.
Smith suffered massive brain damage and was unable to speak properly for several months. He is willing to return to St. Maarten to testify. However, he said he was financially strapped and the trip to St. Maarten would add further to his financial stress. Stein said Tuesday that if Smith decided to come to St. Maarten, the Prosecutor’s Office would make arrangements to assist with his expenses.
Four persons have been arrested in this case: the men M.S.J. (21) of Guadeloupe, A.H.D. (19) and G.R.C. of French St. Maarten, and the woman M.F.D. (18) of French St. Maarten.
Stein said all four would be charged with attempted murder and manslaughter, as well as with the lesser count of causing severely bodily harm to their two victims.
Three of the four lawyers present to defend their clients tried to persuade Judge Rick Smid to suspend their client’s pre-trial detention. They pointed at the minor role their clients allegedly had played in the incident and to the fact that the suspects already had spent more than three months in detention.
Stein opposed lifting the suspects’ detention. He said they were suspected of having committed a very serious crime, which had had a bad impact on the island.
“These suspects say they played minor roles, but all participated in this incident,” Stein said.
The judge agreed. “We’re talking here about a case of public violence that had very serious consequences,” Smid said in dismissing the lawyer’s requests to suspend their clients’ detention.
St Maarten vacation rental
