A Bahamian family outraged that their son’s accused killer is out on bail.
One month after learning that the conviction of their son’s accused killers had been quashed, the family of Philip Gaitor, Jr., was outraged over the fact that one of the men was released on bail.
Renaldo Bonaby and Renaldo Armbrister were found guilty back in December 2009 of the murder and kidnapping of Gaitor, Jr., and the attempted extortion of $100,000 from Philip Gaitor, Sr., on December 2006.
In June 2010, Bonaby, 25, was sentenced to death for murder; five years for attempted extortion and seven years for kidnapping.
Armbrister, 24, was sentenced to life for murder; five years for attempted extortion and six years for kidnapping.
However, early last month, the Court of Appeal overturned their conviction and sentence and ruled that “material irregularity” warranted a retrial.
The justices found that the duo did not get a fair trial when Justice Neville Adderley told the jury that the confession statements of the accused men were admissible and voluntarily made.
As a result, Bonaby and Armbrister are no longer considered convicts and will have to be brought back to court for a retrial.
Yesterday, at a press conference at Zion Baptist Church, Freeport, the victim’s mother, Myrna Gaitor, clutched a photograph of her son and an urn containing his ashes, which, she said, was all that she has left of him.
Gaitor pointed out that when she learned on Sunday that one of the men, Armbrister, was out on bail it added insult to the family’s injury.
“Within minutes my pressure went up… it was rough. I cried all day,” she said, adding that she only has a sound mind today because of Jesus.
“If I take Him out of the picture I don’t know what will happen, what I would do, where I would be, but I thank God for Jesus,” she said.
“But I need to know when is it going to end?”
Rev. Glenroy Bethel, founder of Familes for Justice said, “We believe that this is a slap in the family’s face; this is also an assault to the community of Grand Bahama and indeed to the entire Bahamas.”
“It is obvious the justice system in The Bahamas is broken and needs to be fixed. The Supreme Court has sent a negative message to criminals and law abiding citizens that there is no justice in The Bahamas.”
Rev. Bethel said the move has opened the door to all convicted criminals and demonstrates that once they appeal they will be released from prison.
“The Families for Justice is calling the Christian community and all law abiding citizens to take a stand against lawlessness in our country called The Bahamas,” he said.
Twenty-four-year-old Gaitor met a fiery end on December 7, 2006 when he was lured to a remote area in a cul-de-sac off Barbary Beach where he was beaten with baseball bats, tied up and burned alive in his 2006 Nissan Cifero.
His charred remains were found in the back seat of his car days later.
Bonaby and Armbrister were tried with another man, Kevin Harvey, who was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of attempted extortion and kidnapping.
Twenty-six-year-old Harvey received three years each for the role he played.
However, he has not appealed his conviction.
A fourth man, Alphege Turnquest, 24, was also charged in the matter but the case against him was dropped when he turned key witness for The Crown just before the start of the trial.
While a date for a new hearing has not yet been set, Bonaby and Armbrister will be retried in New Providence.
By LEDEDRA MARCHE
Freeport News Senior Reporter
