It was a mass brawl involving up to 100 men armed with weapons and was even captured on camera but yesterday seven men walked free of all charges relating to an alleged "riot" in St. David's.

Members of that community signalled concern after the case that silence on the part of witnesses hampered the Police investigation. Yesterday's outcome means that only one person involved in the brawl has been brought to justice although he was not jailed.

Three men were taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital with stab wounds after the incident on Sunday May 5. According to Police, the brawl involved rivals from two Pembroke gangs armed with machetes, knives and baseball bats. It culminated in fighting in three separate areas of St. David's, and armed Police were dispatched to the area in response.

However, all three of the injured men refused to assist the Police with their inquiries. Detectives made repeated appeals for information about the brawl and managed to obtain video footage from witnesses among the large crowd at the scene. However, The Royal Gazette understands that those wielding weapons fled before the Police could catch them and so many people were involved in the melee that it was difficult to make out individuals on the video footage.

Officers were never able to substantiate reports that a gunshot was fired.

Seven men were eventually charged in July with taking part in a riot, with prosecutor Robert Welling telling Magistrates' Court during their initial appearance that rivals from the "42nd" and "Parkside" gangs from Pembroke planned to fight that night.

All seven of the accused pleaded not guilty and yesterday prosecutor Nicole Smith dropped charges against three of them before the trial began, saying the Crown had no evidence to offer.

The four remaining men went on trial on lesser charges of "behaving in a riotous manner" but were acquitted by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo at the close of the prosecution case, on the basis that they had no case to answer.

Yesterday's outcome means that only one man 25-year-old Justin Denbrook has ever been convicted over the mass brawl. Denbrook, of Southside, St David's, pleaded guilty after being caught on videotape throwing rocks on Cooper's Island Road. He was handed a $1,000 fine and an 18-month suspended sentence. His lawyer Llewellyn Peniston claimed he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and found it hard to extract himself from the melee.

Denbrook was also among the eleven men charged in relation to a mass fight at the Cup Match ground after this year's game. He was jailed for three months for that with an extra six months because his previous suspended sentence got activated as a result of the Cup Match fight.

Commenting after today's case, St. David's MP Lovitta Foggo said: "I do believe that the Police are doing their job. I work closely with them. This speaks to the importance of community members being willing to be accountable. By that I mean if they expect the Police to do a good job, and they are witness to mishaps, then they should realise that it's not feasible for the Police to effect a result that the community would be pleased with if there are no willing witnesses who'll speak."

Ms Foggo was at the Gombeys Bar and Restaurant on the night in question and although the brawl happened up the road away from that venue, she and other patrons had to stay inside until it was over.

"People were angry that they [the culprits] were outsiders. They felt we had people visiting from other parts of the Island who came and created this ruckus," she said.

Gombeys proprietor Marlon Laws complained that the incident had nothing to do with his business, but the ensuing publicity meant he lost customers this summer. Like Ms Foggo, he blamed outsiders for causing trouble.

"St. David's kids are good kids and I've got no problems with them, " he said. "A lot of people came from elsewhere and the St. David's people are up in arms about it."

Asked about the reluctance within the community to help the Police, he replied: "People are afraid. They feel that if the Police are not going to protect them they are going to protect themselves and say nothing."

Aaron Lugo, president of St. David's Cricket Club, said: "The information about what happened was very sketchy. I assume they [the injured parties] didn't want to press charges and that's a sign of the times. From a community point of view, it's up to the public to do something about it. These guys are just going to try to get each other back. The members of the public need to speak up, even if it's your friends or family involved. St. David's is a very peaceful place and we're trying to keep it like that."

Echoing his remarks, Shadow Minister of Public Safety Michael Dunkley said: "This incident and others similar to it are certainly very disturbing and distressing for me and people throughout the community."

He continued: "People are still unwilling to help the Police unless it hits close to home. Then they want it resolved straight away. You can't have your cake and eat it. The way to deal with this cancer in our society is for everyone to be their brother's keeper."

However, one of Bermuda's top lawyers who asked not to be named but has worked in both prosecution and defence offered a different perspective.

He told The Royal Gazette: "Once you have a huge crowd then it is always a problem. If you had ten people standing around all looking at a fight between two people then it's clear and easy to figure out. If you have a ton of people fighting and a ton of people trying to get away, with traffic and sirens going, people are only going to see stuff with a fleeting glance and they don't know people. It makes identification a real issue."

Magistrate sees no evidence of riotous action, lets men go

Armed Police dispatched to the scene of a "riot" in St. David's encountered a man in the sea shouting in fear of his life, while others on shore yelled threats, it was claimed in court yesterday.

However, all four men who stood charged with riotous behaviour at the beginning of yesterday's hearing had their names cleared by a Magistrate at the end of the prosecution case.

Toshmaal Tucker and Michael Talbot, both aged 29, from Devonshire, Jahdel Rogers, 28, from Pembroke and Jahkeo Leshore, 27, of Devonshire denied the charges.

Police Constable Nidol Barker of the Armed Response Unit gave evidence that he and three colleagues were dispatched to the Great Bay area of St. David's, near the cricket club, at 7.45 p.m on Sunday, May 3.

It has previously been alleged by the Police and prosecutors that a large number of men from rival Pembroke-based gangs gathered in St. David's that night to participate in an armed fight.

Pc Barker said other officers in uniform were already there and he saw a crowd of people standing on the road pointing towards the direction of the water. PC Barker said he heard one of them saying something like "him, him" and then noticed Mr. Leshore standing on a dock shouting "I'll f**k you up" to a man in the water and looking very agitated.

He then observed a man standing on a boat moored in the water who was shouting "help, help, those guys are trying to f*****g kill me."

Pc Barker then saw Mr. Tucker, Mr. Talbot and Mr. Rogers standing next to a car. They also appeared to be agitated, gesturing with their hands and shouting. He claimed that he and his fellow armed officers shouted at the trio to get down on the floor on several occasions but they did not comply, and they were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the Police, and affray.

Asked by prosecutor Nicole Smith to demonstrate the volume of what the men were shouting, Pc Barker obliged by shouting "We're going to get you, we're going to get you!"

However, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo agreed with defence lawyers that his allegation that the men shouted those words together with his claims about what Leshore and the man in the water shouted was not admissible as evidence. The lawyers had described all the words as "hearsay".

Three of Pc Barker's colleagues from the Armed Response Unit gave similar accounts of events. However, defence lawyers complained at the close of the prosecution case that there was no evidence any of the four accused men behaved in a "riotous manner," and there was no case for them to answer.

According to Mr. Rogers' lawyer Charles Richardson, the definition of "riotous" in the Oxford English Dictionary is "involving public disorder, wild and uncontrolled" which was not true in this case.

Prosecutor Nicole Smith contested the arguments, saying that the defendants had exhibited behaviour that was "boisterous" and "unrestrained".

However, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo upheld the defence submissions that there was no case to answer, stating: "In my view there is no evidence that Tucker, Talbot and Rogers behaved in a riotous manner and I take the same view on Leshore."

Three additional defendants had also been charged in relation to the same incident Jerome Mader, 21, of Hamilton Parish, Tyun Smith-Ming, 21, of Paget and Tideone Smith, 30, of Paget.

However, prosecutor Ms Smith dropped the charges against them before the trial began yesterday, explaining that she had no evidence to offer. In an unusual move, the Magistrate ruled that Tideone Smith should have his legal costs paid by the Crown. His defence lawyer Shade Subair complained that the case against him was "unfounded" and "of a frivolous nature". Mr. Tokunbo agreed, on the basis that the Crown admitted there was no evidence.

Tyun Smith-Ming's lawyer, Larry Mussenden, was involved in another case yesterday but will make a similar application to the court for costs against the Crown on October 19.