BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE story of how Lennus St. Jules was chopped, maimed and left for dead, allegedly at the hands of father and son Anthony James and Chesney James, was told in court yesterday (Feb. 8) during the first day of trial.
The indictment charges that the duo either committed the offence of “wounding with intent” or “unlawful wounding” against St. Jules at about 10:00 a.m. on October 28, 2006 while he was in his Challengers Village home.
According to St. Jules’ testimony, on the day in question, he had disembarked a bus that brought him from the Joseph N. France General Hospital where he was nursing wounds inflicted by another of Anthony James’ sons, identified as ‘Smallee’.
He explained that when he went to his home, he met it “ransacked and burglarised” and “knowing what was going on with James’ son, I decided to go lash him. So I took up a stick and a ‘bosa’ (an instrument used for cutting). I went down the street looking for him.”
St. Jules said he did not see Smallee but encounteed a man he identified as ‘Dickie’, whom he said is known to keep company with the senior James. He explained that Dickie was brandishing a machete at him as they approached each other, and he kept walking and ducked into an alley.
Still not seeing Smallee, St. Jules said he decided to visit the home of Anthony James, whom he referred to as Trevor.
“I decided to capture his attention because I wanted him to come to me. I slashed the tyre of his pick up truck; the right-hand-side back tyre. I sat down for about 10-15 minutes…nobody came. Minutes later, however, as St. Jules’ account suggests, Trevor came walking up the road and when he got in proximity, the virtual complainant (VC) exclaimed, “Trevor, your sons have been breaking my house for the longest time. I want it to stop”. He said Trevor’s responded, “No, never! Can’t win! I must break you!”
St. Jules said Trevor was advancing towards him with open hands with the intention to grab or hold him. He explained that with every step Trevor took towards hi, he retreated and, sometime during that process, he saw the second accused, Chesney James, approaching with a black rubber-handled machete in his waist.
“I swung the ‘bosa’ to get the father to stop advancing. I looked back at the son and he pulled the machete from his waist. He started chopping me, so I was swinging the ‘bosa’. The father grabbed me in a bear hug. I dropped on the line and Mr. James was on top of me. I was on my back.”
The VC said that while holding him down, the older James instructed the younger – referred to as ‘Popo’, to “chop he gamble”. St. Jules said Popo chopped him across his calf area, as he was unable to get to the gamble area because he was wearing a pair of boots. He said Trevor ordered his son to repeat the process on the other leg, which he did. St. Jules further explained that his ordeal did not end there but continued with Popo chopping off his left hand, as instructed by his father, and left him for dead.
Counsel for the James’, Angela Inniss, made a number of suggestions to the VC during cross examination.
Responding to counsel’s questions, St. Jules said he lived between the USA and St. Kitts for the better part of his life and returned to St. Kitts permanently in 2003, escorted by a US Marshall. He said, when he got back on the island, Trevor was the first person with whom he spoke.
Although St. Jules claimed he received no assistance from James on his return from the USA, Inniss suggested to him that James had a hand in teaching him how to make coals, which he could sell and earn his keep. She also suggested that he was fed and even sheltered by James at one stage or another. Inniss’ suggestion to St. Jules was that, at one stage or another, he affectionately referred to James as ‘daddy’, to which he responded in the affirmative.
St. Jules admitted to another suggestion by Inniss that when he was accused of breaking the law, James was one of the sureties. He however declared that the fact that James withdrew himself as one of the sureties did not make him feel rejected or angry towards him.
The possibility of self defence was factored into the equation when Inniss suggested to the VC that he sustained his injuries at the hands of Anthony James, who acted in self-defence. She also suggested that he defended himself after St. Jules had cut him across his stomach with the ‘bosa’. Her further suggestion to him was that Chesney James was in no way involved in the altercation, so much so that he was not around when the incident took place. The VC counted her suggestions as being untrue.
The James’ case continues today at the Basseterre High Court of Justice.
