Brother charged in BT attack

(CNS) Updated: Police have now charged the 49 year old Bodden Town man who was arrested on Monday in the aftermath of a brutal attack on his brother with a machete. Easton Russell appeared in court on Thursday afternoon charged with attempted murder and assault occasioning  grievous bodily harm. He was remanded in custody until 21 November, when the case will be heard in Grand Court. Meanwhile, his victim and brother, Carlos Renton Russell, has undergone emergency surgery and, according to the police, remains in a very serious but stable condition at the George Town Hospital.

Police have not yet revealed any further details regarding the attack on Russell on Tuesday morning but it is understood to have occurred at his home near Kipling Street and relates to an on-going dispute between the two brothers. Police arrested Russell’s brother at the scene.

Carlos Russell was released from jail some time ago, having served part of an 11-year sentence in 2006 for the manslaughter of Philip Watler the year before, following an escalation of gang violence.

Originally charged with murder, the jury found Russell guilty of manslaughter as they accepted that he had shot Watler in retaliation for an alleged attack on Russell’s home the night before.

Watler was said to be one of two men who fired multiple shots at Russell’s house with an M16 assault rifle and a nine millimetre hand-gun when he was home with his wife and children. The court heard during the trial that at least 27 shots were fired at the home, some of which went through the walls of rooms where the children were sleeping.