Grand Manan Five await jury's verdict on riot charges

Thefate of five men charged with arson and weapons offences in a brawl on Grand Manan last summer is nowup toa jury.

Carter Foster, Matthew Lambert, Michael Small, Lloyd Bainbridge and Greg Guthrie are accused of carrying out a vigilante-style attack on a reputed drug house owned by Ronald Ross in the small Grand Manan community of Castalia, N.B.,last July 22.

There is no disagreement on either side that the five men charged with burning down the house of a man they believed to be a drug dealer took the law into their own hands.

The jury has heard two weeks of evidence in the St. Andrews courthouse thatsuggests Ross was a dangerous man and feared in the community, and that the men felt they were acting out of necessity.

But defence lawyer David Lutzhopes the jury will see the actions of the men, known as the Grand Manan Five, as justified by the fear and intimidation that surrounded the alleged crack dealer, and the comings and goings at his small house.

Lutz has portrayed the five men as a kind of mobile neighbourhood watch, but prosecutors have warned jurors that no matter what they think of the man whose home was destroyed, the five islanders had no right to bypass the criminal justice system.

Crownprosecutor Randy DiPaulo saysthe actions of the accused werereckless, dangerous and criminal, and they had other options than to take the law into their own hands.

Justice Hugh McLellan said in his charge to the nine women and three men on the jury that they must weigh the evidence directly related to the charges, and ignore the opinions or sympathy expressed by the lawyers.

McLellan said it was up to the Crown to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the men were not acting in self-defence.

"I want to tell you that our law does recognize self-defence against an unprovoked assault," he told the jury.

"It does recognize you don't have to run away from your house. It recognizes the right to prevent people from trespassing on your property if they plan to shoot holes in it or burn it down. It recognizes all people have the right to arrest without warrant someone who is committing an offence."