Grand Manan mob shouted 'let it burn,' jury hears
An angry mob chanted "let it burn" while blocking RCMP and fire fighters from dousing a burning home during a riot on Grand Manan last summer, a St. Andrews jury heard Thursday morning.
Crown prosecutor Jim McAvity described it as"a very bad night on Grand Manan"while laying out his case against five men charged in connection with the four-hour riot. The men are accused ofcarrying out avigilante-style attack on a reputed drug house in the small community of Castalia.
Carter Foster, Matthew Lambert, Michael Small, Lloyd Bainbridge and Greg Guthrey are being tried together by a12-memberjury.
Defence lawyer David Lutz told the court the men were acting in self defence.
In the July 22 incident,police say, thegroup of people stormed a house on Cedar Street in the smallcommunity of Castalia, fought with the people inside, firedgunshotsand burned the house down.
One man is charged with arson, three are charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one man faces both those charges. The trialis expected to last two weeks.
The Grand Manan Five is the name of the ferry that links the island to the New Brunswick mainland.It's also a nickname some are using for the five men on trial who range in age from 24 to 31.
Grand Mananer Elaine Brown is among those supporting the men.
She says drug dealers were openly plying theirtrade, and too manyyoung people were getting hooked on hard drugs.
"They're good boys, they've never done drugs, they're upstanding citizens and we're very concerned about the kids on the island," she said.
Soni Gatta helped raise $30,000 for the men's legal defence fund.
"I personally believe that they were backed into a corner, and I think it was human nature, and I think there's very few of us who wouldn't have reacted the same way in the same situation."
Since the incident, people who live on the Bay of Fundy islandhave begun to openly admit there's a drug problem on Grand Manan, and some blame the lack of activities for young people.
As a result, citizens have organized local neighbourhood watch committees, and there are renewed efforts to create recreational programs for young people.
Alternative to drugs
Hotel owner Kirk Cheney is leading a drive to build a new skating rink for children.He saysthe $3.5-million recreation centre will give young people an alternative to drugs.
"Due to the events of the summer, due to the increase of the drugs and negative activities, this island I think is ready to put [in] money and time and invest in our youth."
The drug trade is something else that appears to have changed on Grand Manan. Some people say the supply of hard drugs has all but dried up on the island, and drug dealing is now a lot less blatant.
Mayor Dennis Greene said the dealers have gone underground.
"It's still there, just because it's not in the open doesn't mean that it's gone away. We still realize that there is a drug problem on Grand Manan. But I guess one person said after the Cedar Street incident, it was just a little harder to buy a joint of marijuana."
Greene also said the RCMP realize they have to regain the trust of people on the island, something, he says, thatis happening, but slowly.