Four persons were yesterday charged for a brutal brawl that culminated in an acid bath.
Raphael Armstrong, 36, David Arthur, 41, Simone Frank and Leon McKenzie, all of Friendship, East Bank Demerara (EBD), pleaded not guilty to the charge of unlawful wounding.
McKenzie also pleaded not guilty to the charges of damage to property and threatening behaviour.
The charges were read by Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where the quartet was granted bail.
Armstrong and Arthur denied that on August 12, at Friendship, EBD, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Frank so as to cause her grievous bodily harm.
Frank and McKenzie denied that they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Arthur on the same day and place.
McKenzie also denied that on the same day and place he made use of threatening behaviour to Armstrong and also unlawfully and maliciously damaged several Louvre windows valued $64,000, property of the Armstrong.
The prosecution stated that the Armstrong, Arthur, Frank and McKenzie are all friends and that on the day in question Frank and Armstrong had a misunderstanding that fuelled the altercation.
He said that McKenzie confronted Armstrong and this led to a fight between the men.
Arthur then intervened and he and Armstrong then threw a corrosive substance on Frank which resulted in her sustaining severe burns.
The fight among the quartet spun out of control and the police were called in. They were all arrested and later charged.
Armstrong and Arthur’s lawyer, Adrian Thompson, had applied for reasonable bail for them on the grounds that since the incident the men were granted $5,000 station bail and were reporting regularly to the police station. He said that the men will attend their trial.
He said that Arthur had lacerations to his hands as a result of the incident and that “they (Armstrong and Authur) denied inflicting grievous bodily harm on Frank.”
The magistrate then placed Arthur and Armstrong on bail in the sum of $75, 000 each, while she place McKenzie on $135, 000 bail and Frank on $50, 000 bail.
The cases were transferred to the Providence Magistrate’s Court for February 16 next year.