Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
WELL-KNOWN MATTHEWS Lane resident, 48-year-old Donald 'Zekes' Phipps, will have to remain in custody until his double murder case has been disposed of. He was denied bail yesterday when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court.
Phipps' co-accused, 33-year-old Garfield Williams, farmer, of Bath , St. Thomas was offered bail in the sum of $1 million with a surety and the trial date of both men has been set for October 24.
The two men are to return to court on October 5 when their case will be mentioned and it is expected that by that date, all relevant documents including phone records will be submitted to the defence.
They are charged jointly with the murder of Rodney Leroy Farquharson and Dayton Williams, both of Bayshore Park, East Kingston.
The burnt bodies of the two men were discovered on April 15 in an open lot at Rose Lane near Matthews Lane, downtown Kingston. The bodies had gun shot wounds to the head.
Attorneys-at-law K. Churchill Neita, Q.C. and Lloyd McFarlane are representing Phipps while attorney-at-law George Soutar is representing Williams.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
Mr. McFarlane, in making the bail application, said the papers served on the defence indicated that the Crown was relying on circumstantial evidence to prove its case. He said there was no witness who saw Phipps in the company of any of the deceased while they were alive.
He said the prosecution was relying on an alleged conversation that one or two persons overheard with Phipps on April 15. He said one of the witnesses is saying that he spoke to Phipps and was told that he could speak to one of the deceased for the last time. He pointed out that the only evidence to link Phipps to the crime was the telephone evidence, and that bit of evidence was very weak.
Mr. McFarlane said Phipps had a fixed address in Matthews Lane and his presence in the area was one that encouraged peace and stability. He said politicians had commended Phipps during a protest as one who maintained peace.
Mr. Soutar, in applying for bail, described the case against Williams as very weak.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Donald Bryan opposed the applications for bail. He said the case against the men was strong and disclosed that an expert witness from abroad was assisting with the telephone records.
Justice Wesley James said it seemed to him that the Crown will have a grave difficulty establishing a case against Williams but he was not of the same view in Phipps' case.
