Women to be sentenced over carnival ‘buss head’

Two unemployed women have found themselves in trouble with the law for injuring another woman during a fracas on Carnival Tuesday.

Sadé Regisford, 19, of Greiggs, and Kerisa Jack, 21, of Lowmans Windward, are due back at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court later on Wednesday in connection with a wounding charge.s

They pleaded guilty one week earlier to a charge that on July 8, at Kingstown, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded L’oreal Nero, of Brighton.

The facts, as read by Police Constable 111 Mofford, are that Nero, a 22-year-old teacher, knows Regisford very well as they both attended the same college. However, they are not friends.

Whenever Regisford would see Nero in the street, she would make derogatory remarks, such as referring to her as an “old hoe”.

Sometime in June, Nero and Regisford were involved in an altercation during which Nero struck Regisford in the head with her cellular phone. 

Meanwhile, Nero and Jack were friends, but she realised recently that Jack had stopped talking to her for no reason.

On Carnival Tuesday, about 7:30 p.m., after masquerading with Oxygen Mas Band, Nero went to the Kingstown Cruise Terminal, the band’s assembly point, to get a snack. 

When she was leaving, Nero exchanged greetings with a friend near the exit gate.

While Nero was doing so, Regisford approached her and said, “L’oreal, yo see you, L’oreal.”

Nero ignored Regisford and was about to walk away when Regisford grabbed onto her costume, saying, “Me na going fight, L’oreal.” 

Suddenly, Jack held on to Nero’s costume and pushed her onto the fencing, after which Regisford struck Nero to the left side of her forehead with the Oxygen Mas cup she was holding. 

Nero was in a lot of pain and felt blood running down her face. 

Two police officers intervened and detained both defendants. Nero accompanied the officers and the defendants to the Criminal Investigation Department in Kingstown, where she reported the matter to the police. 

PC 105 Castello conducted an investigation during which the defendant each volunteered a written statement.

After hearing the facts, Senior Magistrate Tammika McKenzie questioned the wounding charge against Jack, saying, “If I hit someone with my hand, how does that amount to wounding?”

The prosecutor, acting Sergeant of Police Shamrock Pierre, asked the court to convict Jack of an alternative offence based on the facts.

The two defendants, who did not have a lawyer, agreed that the incident occurred as the prosecution had said.

However, the senior magistrate said the difficulty the court faced was where self-defence arose, as Regisford saw Jack and Nero scuffling, and she hit Nero with the cup.

Pierre said he did not see self-defence of another arising in the case, adding that it was a carnival event where Jack and Regisford were liming together, and one of them approached Nero. 

However, McKenzie said she did not get the impression that the defendants had jumped on Nero and started to beat her up.

Pierre said there was a confrontation, resulting in Nero’s injury. 

Pierre made an application that Jack be convicted of common assault. 

Nero then took the stand and explained to the court what had transpired.

However, Jack said that Nero’s version was “a little different”, adding that Nero had elbowed Regisford, which Nero denied.

Nero told the court that she was still in a lot of pain because of the injury to her forehead, adding that a friend had told her to go to the hospital that day so they could organise an X-ray for her.

She told the court that no X-ray had been conducted when she was treated at the hospital the previous night “because down there was really busy”. 

The senior magistrate said she would allow Nero to be fully examined medically before handing down her sentence.

McKenzie maintained that she did not see the wounding charge against Jack being made out, adding that she would allow the prosecution time to review the file and decide how it would proceed.

The prosecution did not object to bail but asked that the defendant provide a surety and have no contact with Nero.

Jack and Regisford were each granted EC$2,000 bail with one surety. They were ordered not to leave the country before Wednesday’s hearing and to have no contact with Nero.