Ghetto roots blamed for clash in upper St Andrew

A chartered accountant claims he is being ostracised by residents of an upper St Andrew community since relocating there from his tough inner-city community of Rema.

"I am from the ghetto and I am proud of it. People from Long Mountain have a problem with someone from where I am from coming into their community. They don't accept you," the defendant Michael Maragh said.

Maragh was in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday, where he and his wife, Petrina, were arraigned for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The complainant is their neighbour.

"For months, this gentleman here has been throwing garbage in the back of our house. We had an argument before and I said to him that 'Yes, I am from the ghetto and I am a chartered accountant and you say you are a doctor, but we don't know if that is actually true'. That is what started a firestorm and his words to me were 'You will pay for this'," Maragh said.

Allegations outlined by the prosecutor state that on August 8, about 4:30 p.m., the complainant arrived at his premises and heard loud drilling sounds resembling that of a jackhammer, believed to be coming from the Maraghs' property. According to the Strata rules at the Long Mountain community, all construction on the premises is expected to end by 5 p.m.

The sound persisted until 7:30 p.m., and the complainant called the Matilda's Corner Police Station, informing cops of the noise nuisance. The police did not respond to the report. Forty minutes later, the complainant contacted the police a second time, informing them that he would go to the Maraghs' house himself to have the noise nuisance contained. While there, the complainant alleged that Maragh punched him the face, causing his glasses to fall from his face. He alleged that he was also assaulted by Petrina.

Maragh explained to Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell that he was undertaking construction work at his property.

"The men were there cutting a tile and it was about 7:03 p.m., and it was only one tile and I didn't want them to come back the next day just for one tile. It was only one tile so I ran an extension, about 200 feet and we were in the bushes," he told the judge. Maragh, who is also a pastor, alleged that the complainant damaged one of his vehicles and threw stones in the windshield of another.

"In layman terms, God has blessed us with things and it bun him. I am an accountant from Rema with a hot-up, hot-up wife and it bun him," Maragh said, eliciting laughter in the courtroom.

"Everybody is just waiting for us to act out of character, and we have had enough," he added, his wife nodding in agreement.

But the senior jurist was not amused by the allegations and was evidently infuriated when the pastor, his wife and the complainant denied the opportunity to solve the conflict at restorative justice.

"We don't have enough police to police the bad behaviours. I have a chartered accountant and his wife and a questionable doctor, before me all because of a construction? You think we don't have anything to do?" Burrell said.

"Something stinks in the state of Long Mountain," she added. The matter was adjourned until November 29 for file completion and for a possible cross case to be brought against the complainant.