MONTEGO BAY, St James — A 31-year-old tyre repairman, who was charged with murder following the death of a man at a football field, was granted bail in the sum of $800,000 in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.

Oppley Ebanks of Bottom Road in Orange, St James, is charged with the murder of 40-year-old Santino Plummer, a labourer of Lilliput in the parish.

It is claimed that Ebanks intervened in a dispute between Plummer and a woman, who is said to be Ebanks’ partner, and used a stone to fatally strike Plummer.

The prosecution had opposed bail, claiming that Ebanks posed a flight risk because he fled the scene after the incident.

However, the accused man’s lawyer Jermaine Campbell told the court that it was clear from the allegations that it was self-defence. He cited the girlfriend’s statement in which she stated that Ebanks had merely been trying to help her.

The lawyer also noted that his client was taken into custody on the same night of the incident, as opposed to being caught during a police manhunt.

“The circumstances under which he was apprehended were in his favour. He was on his way to the police station with the female he was trying to defend,” Campbell said.

However, the clerk of court referenced sections of a statement on file, given by Ebanks’ girlfriend, which contradicted the defence’s argument.

“When my boyfriend [Ebanks] came, he had a big stone in his right hand, and the two of them argued…My boyfriend took the stone and hit him twice in the head, and he staggered and fell to the ground…My boyfriend took up another stone and stood over him and hit him in the head with it, and then he took up another one and drop it in his head,” the clerk read aloud.

Another section of the statement referenced indicated that Ebanks attempted to flee the scene.

“When we were at the shop on the ball ground, we saw the blue light on a police car flashing and approaching us, so my boyfriend [Ebanks] and I started to run, and we ran until we reached the Water Commission, and the police caught us right there and carried us to the station,” the clerk continued.

At that point, Campbell requested that conditions be imposed if his client were granted bail.

Presiding Judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley then offered Ebanks bail in the amount of $800,000 with up to two sureties, and ordered him to report to a specific police station on specific days of the week. He was also ordered to surrender his travel documents, and a stop order will be placed at all ports.

Ebanks is to return to court on April 18.

It was reported hat on January 14, about 11:30 pm, Plummer went to the area to conduct a business transaction when an argument developed with a woman and Ebanks intervened.

The quarrel between the two men became physical, and it is alleged that Ebanks used a stone to strike Plummer.

The police were alerted and, on their arrival, Plummer was seen lying face down in blood with an injury to the head. Ebanks, who was seen running from the scene, was chased and held by the police.