“I still love Bermuda,” an American man declared, after a Supreme Court jury convicted the Southampton man that robbed and viciously attacked him, while vacationing in Bermuda. Paul Lamar Smith, 37, of Scenic Heights Drive, delivered a violent beating to Michael Connelly, 50, removing his wallet in the process and stealing $83 in cash on November 26, 2005, near the Southampton Rangers Club.

Yesterday, Smith remained silent and emotionless when the five-man, seven-woman jury found him guilty, after deliberating for just over an hour.

Speaking from the US and on behalf of his wife, Mr. Connelly said their unfortunate experience has not left them with a bad taste about Bermuda.

He revealed: “We are very pleased that the jury saw fit to believe our explanation of what took place. The reason we made the effort to return and testify is because of our fondness of Bermuda and our feeling that this serious matter warranted our help in trying to deter.

“We like Bermuda a lot and we’re happy to return and still feel safe in doing so. Bermuda is well-known as a place that welcomes tourists and it’s very hard to be known as such and at the same time, known as a place where tourists are libel to be viciously attacked.

“This was a particularly uncivil attack. I wasn’t asked for money — I was knocked down from behind — ambushed. I feel the Bermudian Police did a very good job in responding to us, searching for the perpetrator and building a thorough case against him. The mechanisms of justice worked as they were suppose to and I’m very pleased that they did. We dealt with two very fine members of the Police force — Patrick Rock and Karema Flood — they were extremely considerate in dealing with and trying to relieve us — they worked very hard to bring this person to justice.

“We also appreciated the prosecution and the people who helped us that night, a taxi driver and the driver of another car who ultimately identified Mr. Paul Smith. We will definitely be back, because we promised our children we would bring them to Bermuda the next time we visit.”

The trial spanned over five-days and saw several witnesses called by the prosecution and one witness for Smith — himself taking the stand.

Just after 9 p.m., the pair had decided to take a walk after leaving the nearby Tio Pepe restaurant and were drawn to an ongoing concert that was taking place on the club’s field. It was then that Smith ambushed Mr. Connelly from behind, taking him to the ground, where a struggle ensued. Mr. Connelly eventually latched onto his leg, while shouting to his wife that he had his wallet. Mr. Connelly testified that the initial blow to his head “felt like a rock was used.”

Wife, Rachel Connelly, recounted how she tried to remove Smith off of her husband, but was thrown to the ground. She eventually flagged down a motorist driving by, who turned out to be Smith’s cousin, Afnik Williams-Hyde, who testified to seeing two men wresting on the ground and a woman screaming for help.

Mrs. Williams-Hyde instantly recognised Smith and urged him to “let the man go,” but said Smith told her that he was the one being attacked, which he used as his defence. She also remembered seeing Smith repeatedly punch the victim in the head after she heard sirens approaching and when Police arrived, Smith had fled, while Mr. Connelly noticed the cash missing from his wallet.

Jurors were shown photos of Mr. Connelly’s bruised, bloodied and battered body as a result of the assault and heard Smith’s taped-recorded statement to Police. There was much contention by lawyers on how exactly the money, which was last seen minutes before the attack, was actually removed from the wallet, since it was Mrs. Connelly who found it on the grass several feet away from the men.

No witnesses remembered Smith handling, touching, or having the wallet or cash, but senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney urged jurors to use common sense and connect the dots and declared Smith as a liar.

Mr. Mahoney argued: “Is it a reasonable experience in daily life in Bermuda that somebody bumps into a person and instinctively delivers a punch to the other person? The defendant was trying to turn the tables by telling onlookers who later appeared that Mr. Connelly had attacked him, so he could escape and cause others to attack Mr. Connelly.

“If it was all innocent then why did his cousin, Mrs. Hyde-Williams, testify that she pleaded with him to stop hitting Mr. Connelly? Is this the behaviour of a man that simply bumped into somebody, or someone who was desperately trying to escape when he heard Police sirens approaching? He was focused on one particular purpose — to steal and to get out!”

Throughout his testimony, Smith maintained he left the club and was hurrying home, wearing a hooded sweat-shirt, when he whizzed through a fence and collided with Mr. Connelly, who was standing on the other side.

In court, both men acknowledged that the road was poorly lit. Once on the ground, Smith said Mr. Connelly only thought he was being attacked and instantly grabbed onto his legs.

Smith told the man and the onlookers that later gathered that he did not have the wallet. He admitted he punched Mr. Connelly a few times — but only in self-defence.

And, he admitted to giving Police a false name when they later found him inside a bathroom at the Rangers Club.

Defence lawyer Charles Richardson called the Crown’s case “the dog’s breakfast” and “splitting hairs” — only consisting of circumstantial evidence.

He struck-down Mrs. Connelly’s testimony, suggesting that her entire recollection of the incident could not be counted on because of her contradictory statements, he said. “Mr. Connelly said his cash was simply whipped out during a fight and said nothing else in the wallet was disturbed,” Mr. Richardson scrutinised.

“Why would my client wiggle Mr. Connelly’s wallet from his pockets — in the presence of several witnesses who had gathered — all of whom said they never witnessed Mr. Smith touch, take, or handle the wallet or any cash?

“Either it’s a case of the world’s most dumbest criminals or a grand illusion. Mrs. Connelly said Mrs. Hyde-Williams only arrived on the scene when Mr. Smith was already off the ground. Then who was Mrs. Hyde-Williams talking to, when she recalled telling Mr. Smith to stop punching the man, while they both were on the ground?”

Mr. Mahoney urged Judge Charles Etta Simmons to hand down a custodial sentence. Mrs. Justice Simmons ordered pre-sentencing reports on Smith, who has previous convictions including a stint at Westgate and remanded him into custody until July 2, when he will be sentenced.