Rose Bank man badly beaten by members of ‘Sick Head’ gang

by Ari Shaw

Is there an ongoing feud between rival gangs from the North Leeward communities of Rose Bank and Petit Bordel?

Maxwell Harry’s recent experience suggests that this may be the case.{{more}}

The 33-year-old Rose Bank resident claims that last Sunday morning, between 3 and 4 a.m., he was attacked, while making his way home from a meeting of the New Democratic Party (NDP) at Chateaubelair. According to Harry, his attackers were members of the ‘Sick Heads’, a gang he said originates from Petit Bordel.

“They beat me up real bad.”

SEARCHLIGHT interviewed Harry at his bedside at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, where he disclosed that the beating left him with a broken leg and other injuries about his body, including to his forehead, where he was struck with a bottle.

Harry said after the political meeting, he was walking home in the company of his brother and his friend, and when they got to Petit Bordel, they were approached by a group of men armed with stones and bottles.

According to Harry, the men declared the name of their gang and told him that he was from Rose Bank, a village with which they have an ongoing rivalry. He claims they then proceeded to beat him.

Harry says while he was being beaten, he repeatedly shouted “Me na dey inna nuttin,” as he was not a part of the rivalry; however, this did not stop his attackers, whom he identified.

The young man said although he had seen his attackers before, he had never been involved in any altercation with them.

Harry’s brother and friend were forced to flee the onslaught of stones and bottles being thrown and according to him, efforts by his other brothers, who heard the news, came to the scene and attempted to rescue him, were thwarted, when they too had items thrown at them.

They had to seek refuge in a nearby cemetery.

Emmanuel Harry, Harry’s brother, attested to the truthfulness of his brother’s story, adding that after the gang members chased them away, the attackers proceeded to land one final blow to Maxwell’s face with a bottle.

After the gang members left, Maxwell was taken to the Chateaubelair hospital by his brother.

Maxwell is the third child of Brenda Joseph, who broke into tears when she approached the scene of blood and bottles where her son was beaten.

Joseph is the mother of eight children and had already lost a son, who took ill while still an infant. The distraught mother said she was at home when she heard the shout “Maxwell round by the road on top some wall badly wounded.”

Dissatisfied, she stated that she is taking steps to get justice for her son.

Joseph’s cry for justice is being echoed by Maxwell’s sister Keisha Harry, who also expressed hurt and dissatisfaction with what took place.

“Dem deal with me brother brutal,” another brother said, also expressing his displeasure at the incident. However, Maxwell says he received a comforting number of visitors and is hoping for justice in this matter.

A usually reliable resident of the area told SEARCHLIGHT that the feud between the villages has been ongoing for a number of years and there have been multiple altercations.

Chateaubelair police confirmed that a report had been made to them and that investigations into the matter are ongoing.