‘New’ guns found in Tivoli

The grizzly big boar which cops said was suspected to be in Tivoli.

COMMISSIONER of Police Owen Ellington said some of the guns found in West Kingston were of the kind never-before-seen on the island, and that some of the explosive devices found were the hi-tech kind, normally used by terrorists.

Ellington also announced that the official gun count from the operation now stood at 88, with over 14,000 rounds of ammunition recovered.

He made the announcement a few minutes ago at a PSOJ chairman’s club forum at the Hilton Kingston Hotel. The forum heard from representatives from the PSOJ, police and the JDF.

The commissioner also issued a call for the business community to help affected communities by providing jobs.

He said the call from community persons on the ground is for jobs and this provided the business community the perfect opportunity to reach out  to the citizens, who had been offered nothing but insecurity from their dons.

The security forces launched an ambush on sections of West Kingston last month, after gunmen loyal to former Tivoli Gardens don Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke torched police stations and barricaded themselves inside.

Seventy three civilians and three members of the security forces were killed.

Woman drops rape charge against boyfriend

Couple to marry

The 25-year-old man, who has a child by the 24-year-old complainant, was also freed of assault occasioning bodily harm and malicious destruction of property charges when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

According to court documents, the complainant had ended the relationship with the accused because of alleged repeated physical abuse.

However, on June 7, the complainant in her statement said she went to pick up her child from school when she saw the accused. He then approached her and told her that he was getting counselling and invited her to accompany him.

But while she was talking to him, she said a motorcar drove up and he pulled her inside.

She said she pleaded with him to let her go but he refused and a fight developed.

The complainant was reportedly taken to the accused man's home where he held on to her neck and dragged her inside the house, bolted the door and sexually assaulted her.

She said he also slammed her several times against the wall, pulled out her hair extensions and reportedly threatened to take way their child.

When the assault ended, the complainant said the accused opened the door and told her to leave. She then reported the matter and the accused was later arrested and charged.

275 detained in Spanish Town curfews; 70 released

Seventy of the detainees were subsequently released after being processed and interviewed.

Detainees wait in a police service truck outside the ‘Shelter Rock’ community in Spanish Town during yesterday’s curfew in that section of the old capital. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood)

“To date, one home-made shotgun and a quantity of marijuana (amount not yet determined) have been recovered by the police,” the constabulary said yesterday.

The areas under curfew included ‘Shelter Rock’, Homestead, Tawes Pen, Dempshire Pen, Jones Avenue, and other areas which police described as major criminal ‘hotspots’ in the old capital.

Deputy Police Superintendent Andrew Edwards, anti-crime boss for the St Catherine North division, praised the initiative, explaining that it could be of much assistance in stemming gang operations in Spanish Town and other sections of the parish.

“It is too early to say how it has assisted us right now, but I believe that if we have this for some time, it will surely bring us some success,” Edwards said.

The deputy superintendent said he spent much of yesterday overseeing the operations, which saw security forces leaving no stones unturned as they combed the parish for wanted men and contraband.

Apart from searching individuals, premises, and public transportation leaving and entering the former capital city, soldiers were seen searching several canals and waterways, apparently for weapons.

Government had declared the limited state of public emergency for the Corporate Area on May 23, as it intensified attempts to capture fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke who is wanted to answer drug and gun crimes in the United States.

Coke was captured by police on Tuesday evening, but Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Parliament that the drive to clamp down on criminal forces and the search for illegal guns must be maintained.

“One month was not sufficient to achieve the results required,” said Golding, during a Parliamentary debate on whether or not to extend the curfew Tuesday.