Charges against House Sergeant, Brian “Yellow Man” Audinett, are dropped

Brian "Yellow Man" Audinett

House Sergeant-at-Arms, thirty-one year old Brian “Yellow Man” Audinett, and Housing Inspector, thirty year old Allan Dale Kelly, appeared this morning in Magistrate’s Court for trial on charges of harm, assault, using threatening and insulting words, assaulting a police officer and wounding. The charges stem from an incident earlier this year on July twelfth at a food vendor’s stand outside the Novelo’s Bus Terminal at the corner of King Street and West Collet Canal.  Philip “Faada” Henry, the well-known activist and former City Council employee, was assaulted by two men he alleged were Audinett and Kelly. They left his face bruised and swollen and a police officer, Constable Wilbert Chi, was also injured and had to be taken to hospital. The incident attracted considerable interest because it was the latest in a string of accusations of inappropriate behaviour, including public drinking and rudeness, laid against Yellow Man. But today in court, all the charges were dropped. Philip Henry failed to show up to court despite being summoned, and charges were struck out by Magistrate Hattie Mae Stuart. As for the police officer, he testified that he saw Yellow Man and another man get out of a pickup truck and go after a man who was presumably Henry, and he went to stop them. But after getting between the men he was hit in the back of the left side of his head, behind the ear, and briefly knocked out. He was able to identify Audinett in court, but his medico-legal form describing the injuries carried the wrong date. Senior Counsel Ellis Arnold, who represented Audinett and Kelly, then briefly submitted to the Magistrate that his clients had no case to answer and the Magistrate upheld it and dismissed the charges. We spoke outside court to Audinett who says he just wanted to clear his name.

Brian Audinett, Charges Dropped

“Faada have ih thing fi do and if Faada want to obstruct to the court, then… I don’t deal with thing out of court. And Faada failed to show up that is Faada’s problem, not mine.”

Reporter

“And now in the case of the police officer who alleged that you all had beat him up as well. What happened with that?”

Brian Audinett

“Oh he did not present enough evidence to the court so my attorney asked for the case to be struck out and the magistrate agreed to struck out the matter based on the fact that there was no evidence to convict me.”

Reporter

“He said his back was turned when he was struck, but you were behind him and so were other people. You can say categorically you didn’t do it.”

Brian Audinett

“I was five feet behind him when he was struck. And if I was five feet away, how could I have knocked him out? But the court sees that what he is saying is a lie; it never add up. I feel very well because members of the People’s United Party including Dolores Balderamos Garcia have went publicly saying in the national assembly that I have been beating up police and people out there without knowing the actual facts of what really transpired in the matter. But the court now has proven that I am cleared of all charges and she can say what she wants. Tell her to please full up Belize Rural Central that dah weh ih need fi do.”

Reporter

“You get off on a technicality; Faada never showed up.”

Brian Audinett

“No, it’s not technicality and so. Dehn set up Faada fi make report against me. There is not no technicality about that.”

Reporter

“Well somebody beat up Faada though; ih neva beat up ihself.”

Brian Audinett

“Dah neva me.”

The Sergeant at Arms says he will try to uphold the standards set for him by his boss, Speaker Michael Peyrefitte.