I am coward, man tells court after nasty fight

While challenging allegations that he was among a group of Filipinos who assaulted and badly injured a fellow countryman in Road Town in 2015, Noel Perido told the Magistrate’s Court this week that he is a ‘coward’.

He admitted to being a coward after the prosecution asked him if he is one.

He also testified in court that he is such a coward that he sprinted away when he saw that his brother JoJo was knocked unconscious in the streets on the night in question.

Noel, his brother JoJo, and another Filipino Ryan Navarro are on trial for allegedly assaulting and causing actual bodily harm to their compatriot who was only named in court as Lucky.

Allegations are that the three accused men ganged and beat Lucky on the morning of May 16, 2015.

They also reportedly assaulted Lucky’s girlfriend when she went to her lover’s rescue.

During individual testimonies in court, the accused men gave a different account of what had happened.

First up was Noel, who described Lucky as a degenerate bully.

He further told the court that, prior to the incident in question, Lucky struck him in the face during an unprovoked attack.

Noel said he did not retaliate at the time.

He stated that the next time he saw Lucky was in Road Town, when he and his two co-accused visited a food van in the area.

It is said that another of the accused, Navarro, went to get the food.

JoJo testifies

While in Road Town, JoJo exited the vehicle he was driving to urinate.

Noel reportedly remained inside.

JoJo told the court that, after he urinated, he saw Lucky signal him to come over.

When he went, Lucky allegedly punched him in the face.

JoJo testified further that he then hit Lucky.

He said Lucky exited his vehicle and they both had a fight, adding that he pushed Lucky on a metal garbage pan.

Lucky was hurt.

JoJo told the court that another man who was travelling with Lucky struck him from behind, causing him to fall.

JoJo then claimed that, when he fell, Lucky’s girlfriend joined the fight and banged his head against a vehicle multiples times.

He said he immediately lost consciousness.

“I fell asleep,” JoJo told the court while he outlined his version of what happened.

Run away leaving injured man

Meanwhile, the other accused Navarro said he saw the incident unfold and alerted JoJo’s brother, Noel.

Both Noel and Navarro claimed they ran away leaving JoJo unconscious in the street.

They said they returned shortly after and helped JoJo restore consciousness.

The three accused, who are being represented by attorney Stephen Daniels, then visited Peebles Hospital where JoJo was treated and released.

He has presented a medical report to the court to prove his injuries.

Inconsistencies

Meanwhile, during cross-examination, the prosecution managed to poke holes into what JoJo and Navarro told the court yesterday, compared to what they had said in their original statements to the police.

The apparent inconsistencies relate to how many times JoJo was struck during the alleged altercation, and where on his body he allegedly was hit.

The prosecution suggested to Noel during cross-examination that, although he claims that he is a coward, he helped to injure Lucky on the night in question. Noel disagreed.

The three accused are scheduled to return to court on July 11.