News
2006-04-21
St. Martin
detains two in beating of American tourists, more arrests
expected
Two men were
arrested last week in connection with a tire iron attack on
two gay American tour
Two men were
arrested last week in connection with a tire iron attack on
two gay American tourists in St. Martin, prosecutors said
Wednesday in Philipsburg, after refusing for two days
to confirm or deny local media reports to that effect.
One of the two men, neither of whom was identified,
was still in detention, and more arrests were on the way,
said St. Martin chief prosecutor Taco Stein.
"This guy is talking," Stein said. "And
according to the information he's giving us, we expect
to arrest at least three other men." The second man
was released for lack of evidence, he added.
Stein confirmed local media reports that the
arrests were made at Bamboo Bernie's, the popular
nightspot where New York journalists Richard
Jefferson, 51, and Ryan Smith, 25, were attacked April 6.
Smith and Jefferson, a senior broadcast producer
for CBS's national evening news, were airlifted for
medical treatment to Miami. Jefferson, who has been
released, said Smith is being treated for brain damage.
Jefferson said the three assailants yelled
antigay slurs at his friends earlier that evening, and
he faulted local authorities for not speaking to
witnesses the night of the crime or pursuing leads. "The
people who harmed us are well-known punks," he told
reporters last week. "People in the community know who
these guys are. They are not talking to the police.
The entire island is watching something bad happening."
St. Martin is a popular Caribbean tourist
destination, control of which is divided
between France and the Netherlands. (AP)
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