By Latrishka Thomas
The trial against three Barbudans accused of wounding finally began almost six years later.
The accused are Mitch DeSouza, his sister Shanice DeSouza, and their friend Shaquio Warner.
The trio allegedly beat event promoter Yannick Beazer on the night of February 11 at Lyme Bar, during his pre-Valentine show.
Yesterday, a resident of Barbuda who has known the three accused all of their lives and grew up with the complainant, told the court that around 4am on the day in question, some guys were “jumping up” on the stage at an event and Beazer wanted to stop them because there were speakers on the platform.
He told Justice Colin Williams that Beazer tripped and came into contact with people, causing a scuffle to begin.
According to him, the brawl ended up outside and many of the patrons followed the fracas.
He said minutes later “[an officer] brought Yannick back inside and I heard a smash”.
He said he then observed blood running down the complainant’s face.
The uncle of both of the Desouzas and the cousin of Warner then testified to seeing Mitch, Warner and Beazer fighting.
He said he saw Shanice going towards Yannick with a glass bottle so he grabbed her and took away said bottle.
He claimed that he took the woman outside and left her with someone else and when he saw Yannick again being escorted by police, he was bleeding from his head.
He, however, explained that he did not see his niece hit the complainant.
Beazer was the third witness to take the stand.
He too claimed to have tripped and fallen on Mitch while trying to get onto the stage to ask him and two others to come down.
“Mitch picked up a Guinness bottle and aimed it me,” he recounted.
He said he quickly grabbed Mitch and held his hands down in somewhat of a bear hug and held him that way for most of the brawl which, according to him, lasted about 10 minutes.
He said Shanice was the first to hit him with a bottle and later on Warner joined the fight and put him a chokehold.
Beazer also said that sometime later, Mitch managed to hit him over the head with a bottle and he began to bleed.
In cross examination, Shanice’s lawyer, Michael Archibald, suggested that Beazer was lying and was in fact “making up the story as you go along”.
Beazer insisted that that was what happened on the morning of February 11 2017.
After the other witnesses and evidence were presented to the court, the matter was adjourned for two weeks when the judge will deliver his verdict.
The other two defendants did not have legal representation.