Paceville strip-club managers not responsible for 2013 assault by bouncers

Two managers at a gentlemen's club have been cleared of criminal responsibility for a violent assault by bouncers in 2013, in which a French patron was grievously injured.

Donald and Marco Bonnici, managers at Deja Vu club in Paceville had been accused of having grievously injured Steve Lefevre, breaching the peace and with having employed unlicenced security personnel.

Police had called at the club at around 7:00am on 1 October, 2013, after receiving reports of a violent altercation outside the establishment. Opposite the nearby Burger King, officers had encountered a highly agitated Lefevre, who told them that he had been beaten by several aggressors. At the scene, he had indicated Donald Bonnici as one of his assailants.

Lefevre, who had been working as a casino supervisor aboard a cruise liner that was berthed at the Grand Harbour at the time, had struggled with security at Deja Vu club after complaining about having been charged €400 for a private dance which he had not received.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera noted that the victim had been certified as having suffered a permanent disability by an ENT specialist.

The two bouncers involved in the altercation had also been charged and had pleaded guilty, the court observed. Both bouncers had told the court that others had been involved in fight and that Donald Bonnici had simply been trying in to break up the fight.

The court observed that this version was corroborated by CCTV footage and the testimony of the co-accused. The footage showed Lefevre throwing a bucket of water at one of the co-accused whilst threatening to kill him, as well as showing Donald Bonnici's later attempts to drag the victim who had been knocked down and was trying to shield himself from the assault, away from the bouncers, the court observed.

It also noted that police officers and medical first responders had testified that the victim had stank of alcohol, had been aggressive and that it had taken a lot of effort to calm the man down and load him into an ambulance.

In court, the victim had not recognised the Bonnici brothers as having been among his attackers.

The men were acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm on the grounds of insufficient evidence. They were also cleared of breaching the peace as they had not caused the disturbance and of employing unlicensed security personnel as the bouncers had been provided by a subcontracted security company.

Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted.

Lawyer Kathleen Grima defended the two accused.