Slumping on his crutches as if punctuating four weeks of waiting, a third man finally arrived in court to be charged with the murder of Jermaine Pitcher yesterday.

Ryan Ru dolph (Tiger) Ball was arrested yesterday morning as he was discharged from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he had been recovering from his injuries ever since the fight outside the Champion's Sports Club in the early hours of February 27.

Ball joins Keneil Ingham and Jamal Robinson as co-defendants in the murder of Mr. Pitcher. The trio are all from Warwick.

The men also face a charge of causing bodily harm with intent to cause grevious bodily harm to Shane Fox, Mr. Pitcher's half brother.

Ball, 28, of Rock Valley Lane, was represented by lawyer Mark Pettingill and the Crown by Patrick Doherty.

He did not have to plead before Acting Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner, as he will face a Supreme Court judge and jury.

It is understood Ball's injuries were considered life threatening in the hours after the incident.

The courtroom was crowded with mostly Ball's family and friends, but outside the court, onlookers shouted words of both encouragement and derision.

Cries of "vengeance is the Lord's'' and "Tiger, Tiger, it's Red (Pitcher), I'll always be here'' were heard as he alighted gingerly from a Police van.

But "keep your head up'' and "be strong'' were also heard from his friends.

After a lengthy bail hearing late in the afternoon, Mr. Warner said: "I don't think these are exceptional circumstances for the granting of bail on a charge of murder. I'm going to remand him in custody.'' Ball will be returned to Magistrates' Court on April 3 when he, Ingham, and Robinson will be presented for a mention hearing.