May 18 – Closing Submissions In Brothers Bar Brawl Trial
The Royal Gibraltar Police has been accused of conspiring against two brothers who are currently on trial at the Supreme Court.
This accusation was made by defence counsel Chris Miles in his closing submission earlier today. His clients Jesse Sanchez, 20, and Damian Sanchez, 24, are on trial this week facing a number of charges following their alleged involvement in a bar brawl and subsequent assault of police officers back in October 2013.
It is alleged the defendants started a brawl at the Quarterdeck Tavern, where one person sustained a fractured skull after Jesse allegedly knocked him on the head with a bar stool. They were taken to the former coach park for questioning, and when Jesse saw his brother being arrested, he is said to have “come out like a bullet” from the ambulance where he was being treated for a head wound and reportedly started “attacking” the officers.
Mr Miles said there were “shocking differences” in the evidence given by separate witnesses in court, adding that it was “absolutely astonishing” that there were completely different accounts of the same incident which took place in the Quarterdeck Tavern.
As for the incident with the police officers in the former coach park, Mr Miles suggested the police elaborated their statements to justify the lack of evidence. He also raised the lack of CCTV footage available for the incident with the officers.
He added that his clients were not aggressive when they walked from Ocean Village to the former coach park, and that his client Jesse should have received medical treatment sooner for the 5cm wide wound to his head that was bleeding heavily.
Mr Miles added that his client Jesse, who was 17 at the time, was scared when he saw his brother being man-handled by officers.
Appearing for the Crown, Robert Fischel QC said there were two separate incidents.
He added: “The fact that [pub landlord Tony Farmer] turns off the fruit machine, it does not mean that it allows someone to effectively go beserk and attack the people in the bar.”
He described the defendants as “strapping young lads in their early twenties” who pushed a 55-year-old man to the ground.
As for the defence claim that the police conspired against the defendants, Mr Fischel added that the statements from the event were in chronological order in their pocketbooks.
Jesse Sanchez has been charged with assault occasioning in actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm with intent, grievous bodily harm, four counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of resisting police. Damian has been accused of resisting police, and both brothers face a joint charge of affray.
Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott will give her closing statement tomorrow morning, and the jury is expected to return a verdict after that.
{fcomment}
