Six teens in court for fighting

SIX teenaged boys, arrested on Friday during a brawl between rival school gangs at a secondary school football match, appeared yesterday before a Couva magistrate charged with fighting.

The teens, whose ages range from 15 to 17, all pleaded not guilty to the charge of fighting when they were brought before Magistrate Gillian David. None of the six accused students appeared with an attorney. They told the court that they were ready to proceed with their cases without legal representation. The prosecution, led by Sgt Moonan Deokie, also indicated its readiness to begin the matters and the cases were set for trial on December 8. The accused were arrested on Friday evening and granted bail late that night at the Couva police station.

The boys were arrested at the Ato Boldon Stadium where the opening of the Central Division Intercol Football season kicked off. Police sources said the fracas erupted around 5.35 pm when the inter-school gangs squared off at the grounds where some 2,000 pupils from secondary schools in Marabella, Couva, Freeport, and Chaguanas were in attendance. The confrontations led to a riot among the young gangs, many of whom were reportedly armed with knives and other weapons. The six were later granted a $1,000 bond each by Magistrate David.