Vicardo “Scar” Farrell, who is charged with the 2016 murder of Devern “Snoopy” Stanley, was remanded to prison on Tuesday after appearing before Magistrate Ayana Baptiste-DaBreo at the Road Town Police Station.
During his appearance, Mr. Farrell also pled guilty to two firearm-related charges: possession of an unlicensed gun and unlawful possession of explosives.
Director of Public Prosecutions Kim Hollis told the court that Mr. Farrell was initially arrested on the night of Nov. 3 by Cayman and Virgin Islands police officers during a joint patrol.
The defendant was at the Moose Bar & Club House in East End, when he attempted to evade officers at both the front and back of the bar, Ms. Hollis said.
After twice telling Mr. Farrell to stop, officers saw him throw a handgun into an old brick oven nearby, the Crown alleged.
A subsequent search of the area allegedly uncovered the nine-millimetre Smith & Wesson handgun, loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition.
Murder allegations
Ms. Hollis said Mr. Farrell’s arrest on firearm and explosives charges “was fortuitous” because the Crown’s case against him for the murder of Mr. Stanley had also been “reaching fruition.”
On Nov. 4, the next day, Mr. Farrell was charged with murder.
Though Mr. Farrell was not required to enter a plea for the charge on Tuesday, Ms. Hollis described the Crown’s case against him to the court.
Mr. Stanley was last seen alive on June 5 last year in CCTV footage, after leaving Crystals Nightclub at around 4 a.m., according to the DPP. His body was found almost two months later in Rogues Bay on July 28.
His disappearance was unusual, Ms. Hollis said, because typically he would have let friends and family know where he was.
Mr. Farrell was also at Crystals with friends on June 5, Ms. Hollis alleged.
The defendant typically drove a blue jeep, but told officers that he and a friend had switched cars that night, she said.
‘Scuffling’
CCTV footage shows Mr. Stanley leaving the club that night and walking to a darkened area near the parked blue jeep, Ms. Hollis said, but all that can be seen by the camera next is “scuffling.”
The Crown alleged that the jeep was then used to “restrain, bundle and drive” Mr. Stanley away from the club.
A short time later, the jeep was found crashed in a ghut close by. Ms. Hollis said the vehicle likely went into the ghut because Mr. Stanley was struggling to get away. Mr. Stanley was then transferred to another car, the Crown alleged.
A post-mortem revealed two large fractures to Mr. Stanley’s jaw, a missing tooth, several chipped teeth and a fractured rib.
The cause of death was determined to be blunt-force trauma, and officials concluded that the hard blows likely caused haemorrhaging that resulted in shock.
Ms. Hollis said Mr. Stanley was found with his arms behind his back, which she said would be consistent with being tied to prevent escape from the jeep.
At the time, Mr. Farrell told officers “on his own admission” that he saw Mr. Stanley when he was leaving the club, Ms. Hollis said. She also said information gathered from Mr. Farrell’s phone placed him both at the club and later around the area where Mr. Stanley’s body was discovered.
Mr. Farrell is scheduled to return to Magistrates’ Court on Jan. 19.