Teens, woman granted bail after shovel brawl

Two teenagers who allegedly assaulted a woman and the same woman who allegedly assaulted them  were granted bail when they appeared before Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

A fourteen-year-old boy pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously assaulting Altonette McKenzie, causing her actual bodily harm while the eighteen- year-old, Nicholas Richardson, of 91 Republic Street, Newtown, Kitty, who was also charged with the same offence pleaded guilty.

However,  he pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously assaulting McKenzie’s daughter.

McKenzie, 28, of 45 Seaforth Street, Kitty, pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously assaulting Junior Josiah and Richardson, damaging Essauge Lewis’s property and using threatening behaviour towards Eveney Lewis.

It is alleged that between September 11 and 12 at the teen’s home, the two boys and McKenzie got into an argument which ended in a fight that caused each of them to sustain injuries and damage to private property.

However McKenzie explained that on  September 12, she was at her mother’s quarters, a tenant of Lewis, pressing her children’s clothing when she heard someone shouting at her son Joshua.

She said that she ran outside and saw that the person was Richardson and  she enquired from him what was all the noise about and stated further “then u gaffa deal with me if u wan behave like that.” She went on to say that Richardson then ran into his family quarters and slammed the door but soon after he returned  outside with a shovel in his hand and as she was going back inside, he  dealt her two blows to her head with it.

She said as she wrestled with him “I bit he in he face” and it was during their fight that the 14-year-old allegedly took the shovel and lashed her in her back and belly with it.

McKenzie went on to say that her younger daughter was peeping by the window at the incident  when Richardson escaped from her and leaving his brother, picked up the shovel and smashed the window causing some of the broken glass to get into the little girl’s eyes. McKenzie said she escaped and ran inside and discovered that her daughter’s face was bruised and blood was running down her nose. “I din even know that my head was bleeding.”

However, Richardson stated that on September 11 his father had to scold McKenzie’s son about pelting his dog and the next day when McKenzie came back she told her son “to pelt de dog” which ignited the situation.

He said also that McKenzie ran outside that day saying “like is a story yall want” and afterwards she picked up a wood and dealt him two blows to his hand and when she attempted to hit him again he got out the shovel and blocked it. Richardson stated that the 14-year-old did come outside while they were fighting but “he aint do anything.”

He further stated that McKenzie then ran upstairs with the wood and broke a few window panes and a table before she threw it away, and started an argument with Lewis.

A policeman came shortly after but Richardson said that as he was standing on the bridge, McKenzie came with a pot of hot water and threw it at him but she missed. Two other police officers came to the scene and the trio was arrested.

After listening to them Magistrate Robertson-Ogle entered a not guilty plea for Richardson and placed him on $22,000 bail, while she placed the 14-year-old on $18,000 bail. McKenzie was also granted bail in the sum of $47,000. The trio was ordered to return to Court Two on November 5.