Machel faces 5 charges.
By: Jada Loutoo (Guardian).
Zen fracas follow-up
4 soca artists charged with assault, cussing
Magistrate grants bail
Montano wants case heard in July
Soca artiste Machel Montano has been slapped with five charges, arising out of the alleged brawl outside Zen nightclub in Port-of-Spain in April.
Also charged are songwriter/producer Kernel Roberts, son of the late calypso legend Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) and entertainers Joel “Zan” Fezeck and Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc.
All four appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate yesterday afternoon and were granted bail.
The four sat in a drab prisoners’ holding cell—in contrast to the glitz of a concert stage to which they are accustomed—but nonetheless centre stage in the Four A courtroom, where they appeared before Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim.
Montano has been placed on $50,000 bail for allegedly assaulting Brandis Brown and Russell Pollonais outside the nightclub on April 26, and three additional charges of unlawfully assaulting Jenelle Le Chee and Gerard Bowrin and using obscene language.
He pleaded not guilty to the latter three charges.
The first two were laid indictably, and he was not called upon to enter a plea.
Roberts, whose bail was set at the same sum, had his reduced to a $25,000 cash bail after his lawyer Daniel Khan informed the court that there was an outstanding mortgage on the property he intended to use.
Roberts was charged with assaulting Brown and Pollonais.
Le Blanc, who is facing only one charge of assaulting Pollonais, was placed on $30,000, while Fezeck had his bail fixed at $50,000 for the two charges of assaulting Brown and Pollonais.
All four are expected to return to court on June 12, and Montano’s lawyer, Dana Seetahal, SC, said her client was anxious to have the case started sometime in July, since he has travel engagements in August.
Twenty-four-year-old Pollonais of Princes Town was reportedly beaten unconscious during the alleged brawl outside Zen during the early hours of April 26.
His friend Brown, 21, also suffered injuries and instructions to charge the entertainers were given after the file containing statements and medical reports from victims involved in a reported scuffle was examined.
Earlier in the day, the four reported to the Port-of-Spain Criminal Investigations Department offices on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, where they were booked.
Montano and Roberts, dubbed in the local entertainment industry as the dynamic soca duo, took home the 2007 Road March title with the runaway hit Jumbie.
Fezeck’s teaming with Patrice Roberts for Sugar Boy earned him a third place win in the Road March race, while Le Blanc’s solo career, after his split from the Asylum band has also earned him accolades.
The charges
• It is alleged that Machel
Montano, Kernel Roberts and Joel Fezeck on April 26 at Keate Street, Port-of-Spain, assaulted Brandis Brown, occasioning actual bodily harm.
• It is also alleged that on
April 26, all three and Rodney Le Blanc assaulted Russell Pollonais outside Zen nightclub, occasioning actual bodily harm.
• Montano has been charged
with unlawfully assaulting Jenelle Le Chee and Gerard Bowrin at the nightclub.
He has also been charged with using obscene language outside Zen.
The legal team
• Dana Seetahal, SC,
represents Machel
Montano.
• Keith Scotland Daniel
Khan represent Kernel Roberts
• Felix Celestine represents
Joel “Zan” Fezeck
• Rajiv Persad, John Heath
and Shalini Khan represent Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc.
