Jeffery Holbert, who was charged with murder and armed robbery in the Supreme Court yesterday, claimed his innocence before Senior Justice Jon Isaacs. Prosecutors allege that Holbert, of Winsome Drive, Blue Hill Heights, and another person, killed Dennis Gardiner during an attempted hold-up on January 7, 2010.

However, during his arraignment, the 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty to both charges and offered an alibi. Holbert, who was not represented by an attorney yesterday, told Isaacs, "I was in Yellow Elder by a friend.

His name is Tones." Gardiner was fatally stabbed near the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway. Holbert said it wasn't until one of Tones' friends came over and told them that someone had died on the highway that he found out about the murder.

Holbert said when he heard the news he called his house to check on the whereabouts of his brother who lives in Blue Hill Estates. He said his mother answered the phone and told him that his brother was not home

"So I walked out by the highway to see if it was my little brother...When I looked at the body, it was a dark built man. I [saw] it wasn't my brother so I went back by Tones." Asked by Isaacs if he knew Tones's real name, Holbert said he did not.

However, he said he intends to call Tones as a witness when trial starts. Holbert also sought to make an application for bail, but Isaacs told him he would have to take that up with Justice Bernard Turner, who will preside over the trial when it starts on September 3. The case has been set for mention on March 1.

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