Hopes dashed as island ‘boys’ get convicted

Four of the five Grand Manan residents charged in connection with the July riot that left an alleged crack house in cinders were found guilty by a St. Andrews jury Saturday, November 18.

Three of the accused, known to islanders as "the boys," sailed home Saturday afternoon after the jury of nine women and three men reached a decision in the trial that has garnered substantial media attention and brought the issue of drugs in rural communities to the forefront. The mood on the boat was subdued, and the men were met with little fanfare at the ferry terminal in North Head. It was a somber homecoming for men some supporters still describe as heroes.

The jury found Michael Small, 27, and Lloyd Bainbridge, 31, guilty of arson. They were taken into custody immediately following the reading of the verdict and will remain behind bars until the December 4 sentencing. The two men, who were led from the courtroom in handcuffs, could face a stiff penalty. Arson charges can carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Matthew Lambert, 27, was found guilty of possession of a flare gun for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, and Carter Foster, 25, was convicted of unlawful storage of a firearm. Both men were found not guilty on the more serious charge of possession of a firearm for a purpose dangerous to the public peace. They will also return to court early next month for their sentencing.

Greg Guthrie, the only suspect to be acquitted, appeared to be crying as Justice Hugh McLellan read the verdict reached by the jury. Friends and family members of the accused also shed tears in the courtroom at the news of the guilty verdicts.

"It was shocking. We thought it would be all or nothing," says Theresa MacFarland, a Grand Manan resident who traveled to St. Andrews to attend the trial. MacFarland, who sailed home with three of the accused over the weekend, says the men are still trying to come to terms with the jury's decision. "The boys were happy about going home," she admits. "But they feel so guilty about the two who weren't coming home."

Grand Manan Mayor Dennis Greene went to St. Andrews Wednesday, November 15, to observe the proceedings. Like many of the men's supporters, Greene is waiting for the judge to deliver the sentences. He says he is hoping and praying for the best. "I was shocked and dismayed. I was saddened over the thing," he says of the four guilty verdicts handed down by the jury.

Greene, whose vehicle has long sported a red ribbon in a gesture of support for the accused, says he was looking forward to an acquittal for all of the men involved; he had hoped that the jury would find that the suspects had acted in self-defense when they fired gunshots and started a small fire behind the home of alleged drug dealer Ronnie Ross early on the morning of July 22. To date, no one has been charged with arson for starting a second fire, the fire that is reportedly responsible for burning the house down.

Greene, who admits he would like to see the convicted men get the most lenient sentence possible, says that residents put their faith in the justice system, and it didn't work out the way they had hoped. "It's too bad the jury couldn't have been here to see firsthand the effect that drugs have had on Grand Manan," he noted.

Sarah MacDonald, a longtime islander and friend of the men convicted, also expressed disbelief when she heard of the jury's decision. "I didn't expect them to get convicted," she insists. "I don't think they deserve to get what they got. It's just a shame."

MacDonald believes that at least one of the jurors may have supported the defense's case and agreed that the men had acted in self-defense after reportedly being fired on first by Ronnie Ross and his entourage. She wonders if that juror was trying to convince the rest of the jury to find the five men not guilty. "[Otherwise] I don't know why it took them so long to get the verdict," she says of the one and half-day deliberation.

Not everyone on the island expressed surprise at the jury's findings. Spokesperson for the Grand Manan Concerned Citizens Legal Defense Fund and former provincial NDP candidate Sharon Greenlaw says all islanders, including residents involved, suspects and the RCMP, are partially responsible for what happened. "Grand Manan is a little bit to blame, the law is a little bit to blame, the way the justice system works is a little bit to blame," she says, adding that she's relieved that regardless of the jury's findings the fate of the men accused is ultimately left up to the judge's discretion. "We think [the decision] is right where it belongs -- in the judge's hands," she says. "I'm much better off with it being in the judge's hands."

Greenlaw says while the altercation between Ronnie Ross and island residents should never have come to this, the men who have been found guilty are confident the judge will give them a fair sentence. "They are satisfied it will be a just sentence," she says, noting that residents who reacted with surprise to the guilty verdicts are really just worried about the severity of the sentences. "People were shocked that they were found guilty because they were afraid of a huge sentence," she says.

"There were lots of people who said there should be 35 other people there," she adds, referring to the other members of the gang of about 40 residents who were present on Cedar Street the night of the brawl. "People are saying people should share the time."
The four men convicted in connection with the riot will return to court December 4 for sentencing.