A peddler and fisherman has been banned from Dockyard and found guilty of threatening Wedco Chairman and former One Bermuda Alliance candidate Ray Charlton.

Buford Smith, 51, was given a 12-month conditional discharge in Magistrates’ Court for threatening to punch Mr Charlton. He was cleared of a charge of using threatening words by Magistrate Archibald Warner.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to both threatening behaviour and to using threatening words.

The court heard that on September 11 last year, Mr Charlton asked Smith to stop cleaning fish on the dock near Calico Jack’s, the pirate ship-themed bar in Dockyard.

Smith moved to the dock area near the entrance to Dockyard. Mr Charlton approached him again and asked him to move on. A heated exchange began and Smith threw his fillet knife to the ground and raised a fist, but did not throw a punch.

Smith was accused of calling Mr Charlton a “f****** racist” and a “f****** demon”. The court heard he then said “I will f*** you up” and allegedly asked Mr Charlton: “Do you have dogs at your apartment because you are going to need more than one?”

Mr Charlton said he felt threatened, and felt his family could be in danger, so he called the Police. Asked whether he wanted to press charges, Mr Charlton said he would not if Smith left the scene. But he refused to cooperate and was arrested.

Mr Charlton said he approached Smith “in a polite manner” but Smith said he was “aggressive and antagonistic”. Smith said Mr Charlton leaned over a barrier and he felt threatened. He said he had been in danger of toppling backwards off the side of the dock.

Mr Charlton conceded that he did not have the authority to ask Smith to stop fishing or cleaning his fish — and there were no signs at the time banning the act.

Mr Charlton told the court: “As chairman of Wedco, I considered his [Smith’s] actions [cleaning fish] to be of detriment to the tourism product.”

Smith was found not guilty of using threatening words after his defence that he was provoked was accepted.

He has been banned by Wedco from going to Dockyard. Defence counsel Kae Thomas Palacio branded this “unconstitutional”.