Sentencing for getaway driver in church murder postponed

The sentencing for the man who drove the getaway car in the killing of banker Andrea Lowe-Garwood has been postponed to March 19 in the Home Circuit Court.

Leon Hines was scheduled to be sentenced yesterday on charges of illegal possession of firearm and accessory after the fact to murder. However, an outstanding social enquiry report forced a rescheduling of the matter.

The 23-year-old storekeeper of Rose Heights, Montego Bay, St James, was among three persons arrested and charged in connection with the brazen daylight murder of the 51-year-old banker inside a church in Falmouth, Trelawny, on January 31.

Hines last month secured a plea deal with the prosecution, which resulted in four of the six charges against him being dropped.

He pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder, murder, accessory before the fact to murder, and misprision of felon. The Crown offered no evidence on each count as part of the deal.

Lowe-Garwood was shot dead while worshipping at the Agape Christian Fellowship Church, allegedly by a man who sat in the pew behind her.

Two other men, Javan ‘Janoy’ Garwood, 29, the stepson of the deceased, and Dwight Bingham have been charged in relation to her killing. Garwood is charged with murder and conspiracy to murder, and Bingham has been charged with murder and illegal possession of firearm.

According to Hines’ statement, he rented the getaway car two days before the fatal incident, but reported it missing hours after the murder to cover up his role in the plot. Hines had called the owner of the car and told him it was stolen, but that he found it a short distance away from his home.

The owner, in response, told him to report the matter and to bring the car to the Montego Bay Police Station.

While on his way to the police station, Hines drove to Miriam Way and discarded his phone and a black bag. However, while he was there, the police apprehended him.

Hines was taken back to Miriam Way, where his phone was recovered, and he later confessed his guilt to the police.