Men accused of stabbing Thomas Barrett appear in court

Five men accused of attacking Thomas Barrett in the jail in Burnside appeared in a Dartmouth court for the first time Tuesday to face a number of charges, according to thepublic prosecution office.

Andreko Crawley, Justin Cole, Kevin Forrest, Daniel Ryan and Latef Tag-El-Din are accused of attacking Barrett on June 22 at the jail in Burnside.

He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Barrett wascharged last year with two counts of second-degree murderin the deaths of Laura Jessome, 21, and Brett Elizabeth MacKinnon, 21.

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The five men are each charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, saidChris Hansen,a spokesperson for thepublic prosecution office.

Tag-El-Din will appear in court again on Friday for a show cause hearing.

The remaining four men will be back in Dartmouth provincial court on August 12.