MATTHEWS Lane strongman Donald ‘Zeeks’ Phipps has been flouting his bail conditions, leading to a warning yesterday by Resident Magistrate Kissock Laing to comply or be jailed.

The so-called don was ordered by the court to report to the Kingston Central Police Station every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm as a condition of bail, but police say he has not been complying with the order.

Phipps, dressed in a blue suit and black shoes, had his $1.5 million bail extended until May 18 but not before Laing issued a strong warning to the balding don.

“Mr Phipps, your bail is extended under the same conditions. If you fail to conform to the conditions of bail you will be remanded in custody. I am sure you know the implications of that,” he advised Phipps, who glared at the judge before walking defiantly from the courtroom, followed by a small band of supporters.

Phipps’s lawyer, K Churchill Neita, Q C, assured the magistrate that he would ensure that his client complied with the court’s order.

“It was a misunderstanding on his part. I will emphasise the importance of conformity,” Neita said.

Phipps was arrested in October last year after a joint police/military team swooped down on Matthews Lane and searched a grocery store, called Sons of the Lane, and a house owned by Phipps.

Police say they found 26 rounds of .45 ammunition, two pounds of loose marijuana and 13 bottles of hydrocortisone – a substance administered to horses. Police say Phipps denied ownership off the ammunition but said the ganja and the drugs were his.

He was arrested and charged with illegal possession of ammunition and pharmaceuticals and possession of marijuana.

During the operation, police also found US$43,000 and J$6 million in a house owned by Phipps. The money was given back to the don after the police could find no basis on which to hold on to the cash.

In December last year, the court upheld a request by Neita that Phipps be allowed to travel to Guyana for “a matter of great importance”for two days, and gave him back his passport.

– walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com