Four involved in N.B. riot won’t serve more jail time

ST. ANDREWS, New Brunswick – Four men who burned down a house last summer during a riot on New Brunswick’s Grand Manan Island will not have to serve more time in jail.

Three of them received conditional sentences, which means they’ll have to stay in their homes except to go to work and appointments.

The fourth man received a conditional discharge, meaning he won’t be penalized further unless he fails to keep the peace.

The two men convicted of arson – Michael Small and Lloyd Bainbridge – each received a one-year conditional sentence and must pay $5,000 in restitution.

Matthew Lambert, 27, was handed a six-month conditional sentence for using a firearm dangerous to the public peace.

Carter Foster, 25, received a conditional discharge for improper storage of a firearm.

The judge hearing the case says the four were lucky no one was killed during the melee and that otherwise they would have faced long prison terms.

The four were convicted Nov. 18 after a two-week trial in which the defense argued they acted in self-defense.

A fifth man, Gregory Guthrie, was acquitted.

Witnesses told the court that some people on the island believed that neighbor Ronald Ross was a drug dealer who sold crack from his house and sowed fear in the community.