Charges against self-proclaimed Kings of Khaos withdrawn

No witnesses to the beating of Al Potter means a low chance of conviction, Crown says

Charges against six inmates accused in a savage prison beating earlier this fall were withdrawn in provincial court Monday.

Calvin Clifford Kenny, 26, Gary Hennessey, 33, Douglas Yetman, 39, Robert White, 31, Ibukun Akindele Adetifa, 30, and Ronald Jason Fitzgerald, 41, appeared in the courtroom via videolink from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary when their case was called in St. John’s.

The six men were each facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm for their alleged roles in the Sept. 20 beating of fellow inmate Al Potter, who is awaiting a murder trial.

Potter, who was beaten so badly he was treated in hospital and is reportedly still recovering from his injuries, didn’t reveal he had been assaulted and his injuries weren’t discovered until the day after they were inflicted.

The Crown has withdrawn the assault charges, saying there were no witnesses to the beating and therefore no likelihood of the men being convicted.

The six inmates, members of the selfproclaimed Kings of Khaos, are serving time for a range of charges, including manslaughter (in the case of Kenny), armed robbery (Hennessey, Fitzgerald), robbery (White, Yetman) and immigration law violations (Adetifa), among others.

Potter, a member of the Vikings motorcycle club, is awaiting trial for the murder of Dale Porter in South River, Conception Bay North, three years ago.