MONTEGO BAY, St James — What began as a routine stop to check for a misplaced cellphone in this western city on July 24 quickly escalated into chaos, leaving one man shaken and his vehicle damaged.

Nicholas Crew and Stephen Plummer appeared in the St James Parish Court, Wednesday, facing charges of malicious destruction of property. Both men pleaded not guilty.

The incident unfolded at approximately 9:30 am, when the complainant — having stopped to make a purchase at a business place inside the grounds of Sangster International Airport — returned to enquire if he had accidentally left his phone behind. A disagreement soon erupted between the complainant and one of the men at the location. The allegations are that as the complainant attempted to return to his vehicle and leave, he was confronted by a group of men who began hurling stones at the car, shattering the rear glass.

Following the incident, Crew and Plummer were arrested and charged.

When given the opportunity to speak in court, Plummer insisted he was not present when the stones were thrown.

“I was sitting behind my vehicle at the airport car wash,” he explained, noting that both he and Crew, as tour operators, frequently wait in that area for work or to wash their vehicles.

Plummer further challenged the complainant’s ability to point him out.

“Your Honour, if there is a group of men and they are throwing stones at you, how are you able to look behind and say who was throwing stones?” he asked.

“The reason why he could call my name or say I was the person is because in the morning, when I went there, I was the first person he had interaction with,” Plummer added.

Crew, meanwhile, remained silent in the dock, offering no comment.

The court clerk noted that the file remained incomplete, as a functionality statement for the photographs of the vehicle and a statement from the police officer who took the photos were still pending.

Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton scheduled the trial for October 14 and extended the men’s bail.

.