Men offered bail for missing buns

WESTERN BUREAU:Two men arrested for allegedly with holding several buns to be delivered to a supermarket were offered bail in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Answering charges of conspiracy to defraud are Alexton Lewis, 21, of Galloway in Westmoreland and Andrew Phillips, 29, of Lilliput, St James.

Lewis is represented by attorney Morrel Beckford, while Phillips' lawyer is Dalton Reid.

The prosecution had no opposition to bail for the two men, provided that reporting conditions be established and their travel documents surrendered. It was also revealed that two police statements and security footage from the supermarket were still outstanding.

"Lewis can find proper sureties in a reasonable sum. In the circumstances, I respectfully ask that he be granted bail," Beckford said of his client. He added that Lewis had no previous convictions.

"Phillips says he has a passport, and he has never been in trouble. I request that he be granted bail," said Reid.

Resident Magistrate Sandria Wong-Small granted $250,000 bail with three sureties to each of the men and ordered them to submit their fingerprints to the police. She also ordered stop orders to be placed at the airports for both men.

Lewis is to report to the Whithorn Police Station in Westmoreland on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., while Phillips will report to the Barrett Town Police Station at the same times. Both will return to court on June 20.

Allegations are that three times between April 2 and May 4, Lewis placed orders for a number of buns and other items to be delivered to the supermarket where he worked. It is said that Phillips - attached to Baking Enterprises Limited - made the deliveries on each occasion.

However, the supermarket's management noticed irregularities on the delivery invoices, indicating that the number of baked products being delivered was smaller than what had been ordered.

It was further revealed that $1,739,527.20 worth of goods could not be accounted for despite the fact that the deliveries had been made.

A report was made to the police and Lewis and Phillips were subsequently arrested and charged.