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 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)