KINGSTON, Jamaica — A group of siblings were referred to restorative justice when they appeared before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday to answer to individual charges stemming from a single fight.

Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell on Tuesday had stern words for Leon Brown, who was charged with assault at common law after allegedly using a machete to threaten his younger sister.

After a halting explanation from Brown and his younger sister, prosecutors indicated there were “a lot of siblings, bad blood and favouritism in the family”.

Brown, who is in his late 40s, claimed that he had gotten a call from a middle sister (who was not in court) that an altercation was taking place with his younger sister, who is in her 20s (the complainant).

He went to assist, and it is then that Brown is said to have threatened her with the weapon.

As the siblings both struggled to get their side of the story out, Burrell admonished Brown, indicating that it was his job to protect his sisters and, by doing so, set an example of how other men should treat them.

Conversely, she refused a request from the complainant for a restraining order against Brown indicating that the problem would just persist without a real solution.

In the midst of this, it was revealed that another of their brothers was also in the courtroom.

Ackeem Todd had been brought to court by a friend of the middle sister, who had allegedly jumped into the same fight and was injured by him.

The poor relationship between the first two siblings seemed to extend to Todd as well.

He too indicated he was not close with his younger sister and had only injured the middle sister’s friend because “she pushed him and he reacted out of instinct”.

“Unuh just live bad,” Burrell said to the group.

The siblings were sent to restorative justice and will return to court on September 29, 2025 to discuss whether intervention has been successful.

— Dana Malcolm