A jury heard how a "very concerned" Roger Lightbourne Sr. a suspect in a double murder offered to help catch alleged culprit Darronte Dill.

However, when Dill made admissions about the slayings during a Police sting operation that ensued, he named Mr. Lightbourne's son Roger Jr. (aka Mister), as his accomplice.

Dill is the sole defendant on trial at Supreme Court over the murders of Maxwell Brangman, 57, and Frederick Gilbert, 53. The friends were stabbed as they slept in a shed in St. David's in the early hours of September 21, 2008. Dill denies the charges.

The trial heard earlier this week how Roger Lightbourne Sr., Roger Lightbourne Jr. and Dill were all arrested at the Lightbourne family home in St. David's in the days after the murders.

According to Detective Constable Leroy Mathurin, Mr. Lightbourne Sr. offered to help the investigation while travelling in a Police car to an identification parade on the evening of September 30. A witness later picked him out of that parade as being one of the alleged perpetrators of the crime.

Det. Con. Mathurin told the jury that Mr. Lightbourne Sr. initiated the conversation and appeared to be "very concerned" , exhibiting what seemed to be "extreme fear".

"He said that he was not responsible for the murders of Frederick Gilbert and Maxwell Brangman.

"He said that the defendant Darronte Dill should be the focus of our attention. He paused for a moment and he said words to the effect 'go easy on my son'. He said that he (Mr. Lightbourne Sr.) was 'the general,' and because of him being a general his son was automatically a lieutenant and need not be involved in the murders of the aforementioned deceased men.

"I asked him why would the defendant commit such violent acts.

"He responded by saying the defendant was the foot soldier running around carrying out errands and he had to kill to prove himself in order to be accepted."

Det. Con. Mathurin did not explain the references to general, lieutenant and foot soldier. However, he told the jury the sting operation took place later that night. The conversation between Mr. Lightbourne Sr. and Dill was recorded on tape by he and Det. Con. Henry who were hidden in a neighbouring cell.

Both officers outlined what they recalled of the conversation, during which Dill detailed how he and Mister set out that night to find someone to kill, which was Mister's idea. Dill spoke of stabbing a black man in the body before the man ran into the sea and died.

Then he spoke of stabbing a white man named 'Max' in the chest and slitting his throat twice before Mister smashed him in the head with a rock. Dill also told how he set Max's body on fire.

In his account of the cell conversation, Det. Con. Mathurin said: "Roger Lightbourne Sr. stated that Mister is his son and he is the head of his household and he (Dill) should not have left the house before saying something."

The jury heard the tape recording of the cell conversation for themselves during Det. Con. Henry's evidence. They were also handed a written transcript of it with the consent of defence lawyer Anesta Weeks QC, who commented that "there's no other way for the jury to be able to follow it".

Chief Justice Richard Ground warned before they listened to the recording that it had been "cleaned up" by the US Secret Service because it was of poor quality. He told the jury that whatever they could hear on the tape was the true evidence, not what was heard by the person who prepared the transcript. Defence lawyer Anesta Weeks QC subsequently took issue with several sections of the transcript.

The prosecution and defence teams and the Chief Justice all refused requests from this newspaper for a copy of the transcript. It is therefore not possible to report the contents of the hour-long taped conversation, due to the poor quality of the sound.

After the tape was played, defence lawyer Anesta Weeks QC put it to both detectives that Mr. Lightbourne Sr. used an "aggressive" tone towards Dill during the exchange. They both denied this, with Det. Con. Henry commenting: "It sounded to me like they was just friends."

Ms Weeks also suggested that Mr. Lightbourne Sr. lied to Dill during the conversation.

"He told him DNA was found, gloves were found, clothes were found, when none was found," she pointed out to Det. Con. Henry. He replied: "That's what Roger Lightbourne chose to say."

The case continues.