However, according to the BVI Platinum News the man’s lawyer has since filed an appeal against the deportation order.
Lawyer, Stephen Daniels of Vernon E. Malone & Co disclosed that he has filed an appeal through a letter to the Chief Immigration Officer and His Excellency Governor David Pearey.
According to BVI Beacon’s report if Desmond “DA” Alphonso, who had celebrated outside High Court after a jury found him not guilty of murder, did not appeal the decision to deport him he would have to leave the country shortly.
“I [Governor Pearey] do further order that the said Desmond Emanuel Alphonso be placed on board the first available ship or aircraft about to leave the territory after the expiration of the said period of seven days,” the order published by the newspaper said.
The order further stated that Alphonso may be detained until he has been placed on a ship or aircraft.
The report said that Alphonso served more than three years in Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut after pleading guilty to helping Christopher “Marlon” Bailey, Dennis “Soupy” Campbell and Andrew “Ratty” Milton elude police in October 2006. The men were wanted for the murder of Dorcas Rhule. Alphonso, a longtime resident of Fish Bay and a well-known businessman, was later found not guilty of murdering Bailey, a Jamaican fugitive who himself was wanted for murder.
Meanwhile, according to the Virgin Islands News Online, the deportation orders were delivered following a petition addressed to the Governor, which had been circulating in the territory for the past weeks. The petition sought Alphonso’s deportation.
According to reports, the request was received by the Governor, who, after consultations with the National Security Council, agreed to this deportation.
Alphonso, who was born in Guyana, has lived practically all of his life on Tortola.
