No-bond affirmed in Galilee owner’s case
Justices rule Memphis judge acted properly
The state Supreme Court has upheld a Criminal Court judge’s decision to revoke the bond of Galilee Memorial Gardens owner Jemar Lambert.
In a decision handed down this week, the court affirmed the actions by Division 7 Judge Lee Coffee and the state Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed the judge’s decision.
In the one-paragraph order, the high court stated the appeal motion didn’t in- clude the necessary documentation, but added: “The Court, nonetheless, has thoroughly reviewed the motion and finds that it is not well-taken. Accordingly, the motion is denied.”
Lambert faces a 2012 theft of property charge in connection with the troubled Bartlett cemetery burying bodies on adjacent land that it did not own.
After his arrest, Lambert was released on his own recognizance.
In January, Lambert was charged again, with theft of property, plus abuse of a corpse, in connection with claims that multiple bodies were buried in single graves at Galilee.
There also are allegations of missing bodies at the 10-acre business on Ellis east of Germantown Road and of cemetery workers crushing caskets stacked in the same plot.
Based on the second set of charges, Coffee revoked Lambert’s release during a hearing in February. He cited accusations of Lambert committing more criminal acts after his release on the original charges.
Coleman Garrett, Lambert’s attorney, asked the state Court of Criminal Appeals to review the bond revocation, and on April 2, the appeals court ruled Coffee’s action “was proper.”
That led Garrett to take the matter to the state Supreme Court.
Lambert’s next appearance before Coffee is scheduled on May 15 for an interim report in preparation for trial, tentatively set for Aug. 25.