ST THOMAS, Jamaica – A video of a fight between a man in orange and a councilor from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has caused tension.
The People’s National Party (PNP) criticized the JLP councilor’s actions, calling them intimidation and assault. The PNP said these actions go against democracy. Peter Bunting, from the PNP, condemned the JLP councilor’s actions.
The councilor’s lawyer, Alexander Shaw, said the councilor felt his life was in danger and showed a firearm during the fight. Bunting mentioned other incidents of intimidation and assault by the JLP councilor and his supporters in the past few days.
Bunting asked the police to investigate the situation. He said that violence and intimidation have no place in politics and asked for updates on the investigations.
A newborn boy found in an abandoned house in Lime Hall, St Catherine.
Police in St Catherine are currently investigating a case of child abandonment in Lime Hall, Guys Hill. In a distressing discovery, a newborn baby boy with his umbilical cord still attached was found on the veranda of an abandoned house in the community of Lime Hall in Guys Hill, St Catherine, on Tuesday morning, February 6, 2024.
The infant is currently receiving medical attention at the hospital. Local residents came across the child at approximately 7:30 a.m. and promptly alerted the authorities.
Law enforcement officers took charge of the infant and promptly transported him to Linstead Hospital for a thorough medical examination.
This distressing matter is being actively investigated by the police.
Man shot during attempted robbery in St Catherine remanded.
A man who sustained gunshot wounds during an attempted robbery of a delivery truck and was subsequently disarmed has been remanded in custody.
The accused, Michael Smart, 33, is facing charges of wounding with intent, assault with intent to rob, possession of a prohibited weapon, and unauthorized possession of ammunition.
The case was heard in the St Catherine Parish Court on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. The presiding judge transferred the matter to Gun Court for mention on February 26, 2024.
Smart was remanded by Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle.
Allegations state that at approximately 11 a.m. on January 12, 2024, Smart, armed with a gun and accompanied by two accomplices, attempted to rob a delivery truck.
A struggle ensued between the robbers and the delivery truck crew, resulting in the gun discharging and injuring Smart and a member of the delivery truck crew.
The delivery truck crew eventually disarmed Smart, and the robbers fled the scene.
The delivery truck crew handed the pistol to the police and filed a formal report.
The police conducted an investigation, which led to the arrest and charging of Smart.
Smart is represented by attorney-at-law Jean Williams.
Court rejects new conspiracy to murder charge against ‘Beachy Stout’ and co-accused.
The Home Circuit Court rejected a request from the prosecution to add a fresh count of conspiracy to murder against Portland businessman Everton ‘Beachy Stout’ McDonald and Oscar Barnes. This decision came a day after the Court dismissed a count of murder conspiracy against the accused.
The men were charged in relation to the murder of McDonald’s wife, Tonia, whose partially burnt body was found on a deserted road in Sherwood Forest in Portland on July 20, 2020.
The prosecution aimed to amend the indictment, alleging that McDonald had conspired with convicted contract killer Denvalyn Minott and that Barnes had also conspired with Minott in the killing of Tonia McDonald, with Minott serving as the prosecution’s key witness.
However, the judge denied the application, citing the potential prejudice to Barnes. Moreover, the court noted that the same evidence used to charge McDonald for murder would be utilized in the new count.
McDonald and Barnes were acquitted of murder conspiracy charges on Monday. Despite this, the defendants will still face a count of murder in the ongoing trial, as they were released following the presiding Justice’s endorsement of the no-case submissions by the defendant’s attorney. The judge found no evidence to support the existence of a conspiracy between the two accused men.