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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Ex-gangster expected to die during ferocious walloping

By: Mike McIntyre

2/12/2009 1:00 AM

A former Winnipeg gang member believed he was going to die after several armed intruders beat, stabbed and threw him out a third-floor window in an unprovoked attack.

Gerald Marsden showed off various scars in court Tuesday while testifying against two men accused of several offences including attempted murder.

"They told me 'You're gonna die tonight, pray to Jesus,' " a visibly upset Marsden told court. He identified Manitoba Warrior gang associates Russell Warren Disbrowe, 44, and Mervin Frankie Flett, 37, as the men responsible for the August 2008 incident that left him critically injured.

"I was telling them we were supposed to be protecting each other, not killing each other. But they didn't want a one-on-one fight," said Marsden, 30.

Disbrowe and Flett have pleaded not guilty and began their trial this week under heavy security.

Crown attorney Daniel Chaput said several gang associates went to court Tuesday in an obvious attempt to intimidate witnesses, including Marsden.

He asked Queen's Bench Justice Don Bryk to have the courtroom cleared of spectators because of safety concerns.

Bryk refused, but issued a stern warning to everyone in court that they will be watched closely.

"If there is any indication of intimidation I will deal with it severely," he said.

Defence lawyers Mike Cook and David Phillips criticized members of the Winnipeg police gang unit for parking themselves outside of the courtroom and screening people who wanted to enter by demanding identification.

"In advance of a court ruling, it's completely inappropriate conduct," Phillips said.

Marsden admits he once belonged to the Manitoba Warriors but left the gang for a fresh start.

"I got sick of the lifestyle, of being a gang member," he said.

Marsden said trouble began after he was called to a Maryland Street apartment block by his brother, who asked him to guard some stolen property while he ran to the store.

Marsden was alone inside the suite when he says three men burst inside carrying weapons including a crowbar, baseball bat, beer bottle and piece of wood.

He recognized Disbrowe and Flett from the gang world but the men showed him no sympathy. They sliced his hand open with glass and began bashing him in the head.

"I felt my arm rip right open when I was defending my head from the crowbar," Marsden said.

He suffered two broken arms and a broken leg before the men picked him up and tossed him out the window.

Marsden landed on the grass and hopped to a nearby convenience store to call for help. He has no memory of his week spent in hospital or being interviewed by police.

Marsden has several large, permanent scars on his arms and head from the attack.

Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Colin Scrivener was also charged in the incident but was set free at a preliminary hearing earlier this year after a judge decided there was insufficient evidence against him to proceed. Scrivener played with the CFL team from 1995-1997.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 2, 2009 B3