A popular figure on the
streets of Montego Bay was shot and killed by a security guard on Tuesday
morning (January 21, 2020) after he allegedly tried to steal building materials
from a construction site in the city.
He has been identified as Fabian Lawrence, otherwise called ‘Pirate’,
a once talented footballer who, years ago, represented Jamaica’s Under-19 team.
Unconfirmed reports are that about minutes after 4 o’clock
Tuesday morning, Lawrence is alleged to have breached the wooden fence at the
Victoria Mutual Branch along Market Street in Montego Bay, which is currently
being refurbished.
He reportedly took up some construction materials and was
about to make off with them, when an armed security guard shouted at him to
leave the material.
Lawrence reportedly ignored the guard’s instruction and was
subsequently shot as he sought to make his way off the premises.
He ran off into the streets and collapsed along the nearby
Orange Street, where his lifeless body was later picked up by the police.
Lawrence is a former National Under-19 footballer, who
played da’Costa cup football for Rusea’s High, and has the distinction of
helping the school lift four of its 11 titles.
He also played with the former Seba United, Defenders and
African football teams.
Lawrence, who was also said to have fallen on tough times
after he became a substance abuser, was the son of the colourful Montego Bay
personality, Evelyn ‘Heavy Perry’ Perry, who died a few years ago.
Gunmen struck in Westmoreland last Thursday night, defying the State of Emergency yet again as they claimed the life of a security guard at Pleasant Park district, George’s Plain in the parish.
The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Owen Grant of
Pleasant Park district Georges Plain in the parish, who was employed to GYD
Security Limited, which provides security services at the Frome Sugar Factory.
Reports are that Grant had completed his shift at the Frome
Sugar Factory and left for home.
He was reportedly about 100 feet from his house when
residents reported hearing explosions and called the police.
He was later discovered with gunshot wounds. However,
according to another report Grant was found lying on a marl road in a pool of blood with what appeared to be
stab wounds to the face.
Omar Lobban, Location Supervisor with GYD Security, says
Grant started with the company in April last year and his death comes as a
major blow as he was an asset.
“He was a great asset to the company as he possessed a great
wealth of security knowledge and always worked well.”
Lobban says they are unaware of him being in conflict with
anyone and the shooting death has come as a major surprise to his colleagues.
TEMPORARY STATION: This temporary structure will serve as the station until a new one is built. – CWP photos
Clinton Pickering – Freelance Writer
Police personnel posted at the Mt Salem Police Station in Montego Bay are anxious to get out of the building from which operations are being directed. With the building falling to into dereliction, the police find themselves sharing it with familiar company – rodents and insects, and not for the first time.
“It’s horrible and I think they should treat the security
forces much better,” says Councillor for the Mt. Salem Division, Kerry Thomas.
The station was ordered closed some years ago by the St James Public Health
Department because of rat infestation.
The police expect to be out soon as provision is being made for
them to relocate to retrofitted premises at the back, while plans are pursued
for the current structure to be replaced by a new building, but vacating the
infested structure cannot come soon enough.
In September 2018, the health department ordered the station closed due to structural defects and poor hygiene. But closure was averted after the order was issued as the authorities hastened to make remedial repairs while personnel continued their occupation. Whatever work as done, however, was not sustaining and the facility has again fallen into a bad state.
CONDEMNED BUILDING: This rundown, infested Mt Salem Police Station building is to be demolished, paving the way for a new one. Inset photos show some of the deterioration on the inside.
“I think it’s horrible, very, very horrible the way they
have treated the Mt Salem Police Station,” Cllr. Thomas reiterated, adding, “
taking into consideration (that) come September, ZOSO would have come to its
expiration date and what they should have been doing is looking to transition
the operations to a brand new police station in Mt Salem.”
ZOSO is the first Zone of Special Operations imposed by
Government on a section of Mt Salem, giving the JCF and the JDF special powers
of control over the community and activities carried out by the people. This is
against the background of a history of frequent gun violence there up to that
point in time.
Concurrently, social agencies of the government, spearheaded by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), have been carrying out programmes aimed at transforming the community.
NEW STATON
Cllr Thomas added, “Very bad! We’ve been waiting for a
police station, as promised under ZOSO (Zone of Special Operations), for almost
three years now and to date, not even a tender process has gone out.”
Commanding Officer for the St James Division, Supt. Vernon
Ellis, is not so critical in light of interim efforts being made to deal with
the problem. He says the station is being relocated to the retrofitted
structure at the back, which is air-conditioned and tiled and houses offices, a
new guardroom, changing room, a kitchenette, new bathroom and lockers.
However, it is learnt that furniture has not yet been
provided for it and personnel posted at the station feel strongly that derelict
pieces of furniture that they have been struggling with must be replaced.
Additionally, occupancy of the new facility is being held up by structural
defects, including plumbing problems and defects with two windows.
At least one civilian is also concerned at the state under
which the police personnel now operate, stating in a complaint to the Western
Mirror, “I recently made a visit to the Mount Salem Police Station and
noticed how deplorable the conditions are. There’s also no changing room or
barracks area for the officers to change or take showers. The rest rooms have
no lights and no proper locks, the wooden floors are rotting away, waiting for
a disaster and in the entire station, there’s only one working electrical
socket, so the fridge that’s used to store food and refreshments for the
officers is out of use.”
CITIZEN CONCERN
The visitor was also aware that, “There’s currently a
retrofitted structure around the back that was completed about a month ago
but the officers cannot move into the new building because there’s no new
furniture to take to the new building.”
Supt Ellis believes that what has been provided “is a good
temporary fit and I must say that it is very suitable.” He pointed out that
removal from the old building was also necessary “because they are so advanced
in building the station that we are to take the guys out of that part to allow
them the opportunity.” He said the area is to be sealed off using ply board and
zinc in a short while.
He said with efforts now being made to address concerns, the
situation now is not as bad as it used to be.
An administrative officer from Divisional Headquarters at
the Freeport Police Station carried out an inspection of the new facility last
Wednesday morning, giving rise to hope of an early resolution to the problems.
The old building is to be demolished, making way for
construction of a permanent Mt Salem Police Station on the same site.
A white BMW is seen on fire at the KFC parking lot on Monday evening January 13. Two other cars also got damaged from the fire. Two units came from the Montego Bay Freeport Fire department to put out the blaze.
Alan Lewin photo
Luxury vehicle mysteriously goes up in flames
Scores of curious onlookers, who would have usually been focused on getting their orders from the busy KFC Howard Cooke branch, could not peel their eyes away from the sight of a luxury vehicle – a BMW 320d, which had mysteriously and spontaneously caught fire in that fast food outlet’s parking lot. The bizarre incident unfolded on Monday evening, January 13.
The vehicle was said to have been parked at the venue for
nearly four hours before its mysterious combustion.
According to an eyewitness, who observed the blaze and
sprung into action with other onlookers to stop the fire from spreading, other
vehicles were damaged, despite their best efforts. “While those other vehicles
sustained significant damage, we were able to push a blue Suzuki Swift motorcar
out of harm’s way. It only received minor fire damage,” the eyewitness, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, shared.
FIRE BRIGADE SLOW TO RESPOND
Although the fire’s impact was curtailed as a result of the
actions of the brave onlookers, other observers at the scene felt the situation
could have been worse, and the slow response of the Jamaica Fire Brigade would
have aided in that, had regular civilians not intervened.
“When the fire first started, we called the Jamaica Fire
Brigade almost right away, and it took them very long to come, although they
are just one mile away at Freeport,” an irate observer shared. “If it was not
for a man who connected a hose on the compound to a water supply and aimed it
at the fire, another vehicle – a blue Toyota Corolla – could have gone up
completely in flames too, which would have caused an even bigger fire.”
“It’s not unusual for people to come and park their vehicles
here for long periods of time while they go off to do their business, but a car
going up in flames like this is new,” shared one of the security guards on the
Kentucky Fried Chicken property, who added that the outlet would soon be
instituting paid parking.
FLAMING BMWs RECALLED WORLDWIDE
Though it is unclear how many such incidents have occurred
here on Jamaican soil, BMWs mysteriously combusting across the USA and in
sections of Europe last year, and in 2018, prompted the luxury brand to issue a
mass recall of some of its vehicles, some 1.6 million of them, which were found
to have mechanical defects which increased the likelihood of the cars bursting
into flames.
The recall specifically targeted vehicles made between 2010
and 2017.
The mechanical defects, according to the Munich-based
company, occurs as a result of diesel vehicles’ coolant leaking from the
exhaust gas recirculation module, part of the emissions reduction system. The
leak then combines with soot at high temperatures, which usually lead to a
fire.
It is uncertain if those circumstances led to the mysterious combustion in the KFC parking lot.
Murder figures have begun to climb in the parish of Hanover with the killing of a businessman on Monday, sending shockwaves across the fishing village of Sandy Bay.
The deceased is 50year-old Donavon Coslay of Big Well,
Lucea, Hanover, whose death brings to two the number of persons killed in the
parish since the start of the year.
Reports are that Coslay was sitting at the entrance of his
business place, a meat shop located at a plaza in Sandy Bay, when he was
approached by two men armed with guns who opened fire at him.
Coslay reportedly ran into his shop and tried to close the
door behind him, but the men followed and shot him several times before
escaping on foot.
He was later transported to the Noel Holmes Hospital, where
he was pronounced dead.
One resident who was at the scene, in the aftermath of the
killing, commented:
“Is wah really a gwaan? A just di odda day, dem shoot
another man right here. Dem man ya nuh easy and dem shooting yah a mek we get
very afraid.”
Coslay’s death comes hot on the heels of the killing of
43-year-old bus operator, Carl Amberley of Greenland, Lucea.
Reports from the Lucea police are that shortly after 10p.m.,
last Wednesday night, Amberley had finished working for the day and parked his
bus before sharing a drink with friends at a shop.
He was reportedly approached by two men, one of whom
exchanged harsh words with him. Both men brandished knives and stabbed him
multiple times. The men then fled.
Officers from the Lucea Police Station, who were alerted,
rushed to the scene and transported Amberley to the Noel Holmes Hospital, where
he was pronounced dead.
Hanover is one of three parishes in Western Jamaica under a
State of Emergency, the others being Westmoreland and St. James.
Shop owner, Ivory Brown, converses with a Fire Investigator from the Jamaica Fire Brigade following the destruction of her shop in the Old Fort Street Craft Market in Montego Bay on Thursday night
Shamir Brown
With four craft
vendors still reeling from the devastating effects of a fire which razed their
shops at the Old Fort Craft, Montego Bay exactly a month to the day, comes the
news of the destruction of another shop and damage to others by fire of unknown
origin.
“Mi pressure gone up! A don’t know how me ago manage,” said
a traumatized Ivory Brown, who operates the shop at the Old Fort Craft Market.
“I was the one who built the shop. My shop was the most
stocked shop in this craft market. I had craft items, paintings, and jewelry
and now I have lost everything; everything, I don’t save a thing,” she
lamented.
Ms Brown further explained that the shop was her only source
of income, so it is a heavy blow to her as she does not have the means to
recover from such a heavy loss.
“I don’t know how I’m going to manage. I don’t have what to
start over with,” she told the Western Mirror.
District Officer of the Freeport Fire Station, Rohan Cole,
said they received a call about 11:38p.m. and responded with two units which
eventually quelled the fire, but only after it destroyed Miss Brown’s shop and
contents, and damaged two other shops in close proximity to hers.
Brown is of the view
that the fire may have been the work of arsonists, a view that has not been
substantiated by fire personnel or the police.
Loss is estimated at 2.5 million dollars.
The fire in December left damage in excess of 10 million
dollars.
With only one day to
go to close out the year 2019, the thirst for blood continues to plague the
parish of St. James, with a swathe of murders on Sunday, December 20, pushing
the tally past the 150-mark, despite efforts of the security forces to contain
it.
The victims, which number four, are: 20-year-old Fitzgerald
Rodman, otherwise called ‘Flip’, unemployed of Paradise, Norwood, 13-year-old
Jamie Anderson of Albion, 43-year-old Christopher Fray otherwise called
‘Banton’ or ‘Chris’, a carpenter of Bottom Stonehenge, Cambridge and an
unidentified man.
The raft of murders opened about 6:40 a.m. Sunday, as Fray
was at home with relatives when three men armed with guns entered his
house.
A tussle ensued and Fray ran from the house, but was chased
and shot several times. The police were alerted and on arrival, Fray was seen
lying in bushes in a pool of blood with multiple gunshot wounds. The other
occupants of the house escaped unhurt.
The police were called to another homicide scene less than
12 hours later when at 8: 04 p.m., Rodman and Anderson were heading home from a
nearby shop, and on entering their yard, gunmen opened gunfire, hitting them
several times.
They were taken to the hospital where they were pronounced
dead. The Police were summoned and the scene processed.
Three hours later, crime sleuths began to investigate the
circumstances which led to the shooting death of an unidentified man at Mango
Walk.
The body appears to be in its mid-twenties, of dark
complexion, slim build and is about 170 centimetres (5 feet and 7 inches) long.
It was clad in a red shirt, blue denim shorts and red shoes.
Reports are that at about 11:10 p.m., residents heard
explosions and summoned the Police. On their arrival, the body was seen along
the roadway with several wounds to the upper body. It was taken to hospital
where the man was pronounced dead.
“When mi see him, him
run outta the house, hold up him belly and bawl out ‘Mama!’ Mi look and see the blood a spew out mi scream out ‘woieeeeee’, and feel like mi did a have diarrhoea. Mi
bawl out again and again and then rush wid him go a hospital, but him nuh
live.”
The pain tinged words of the anguished 84-year-old widow,
Hilda Stoddart of Johnson Hill, Glendevon, Montego Bay, who is still nervous
and bewildered, as the gravity of the barbaric act weighs heavily on her mind.
Her 43-year-old son, Fabian Stoddart, otherwise called ‘Steve’, stabbed his
52-year-old brother, Robert Stoddart, otherwise called ‘Coco’, a casual worker,
to death on Friday, December 20.
Hilda, her heart in tatters, is still struggling to come to
grips with the fact that one son is dead and the other in jail, relegating her
to a sorrowful Christmas season.
She related to the Western Mirror that she still feels nervous and numb
as she recalls what transpired on the fateful day.
“Gary and Steve live at the same house next door to mine,
but Gary love to keep him place clean and him girlfriend always come over.”
She said Robert was chiding Fabian for keeping the house
untidy and a quarrel ensued between them.
Fabian is purported to have gone to his brother’s room and
began hurling expletives at him, calling his older brother a ‘b-man’ in the
process, and Gary pushed him from the room and told him to get out.
Fabian reportedly returned with a knife which he allegedly
plunged into his brother’s abdomen and pulled it out.
Robert ran from the room and bawled out “Mama!”, and that’s
when Hilda’s worst fears were realized, when she saw her son crying and
bloodied, rushing to her.
SURRENDERED TO THE POLICE
Fabian subsequently went to the Freeport Police Station
where he surrendered to the police and confessed to the killing of his brother,
and was taken into custody.
“Mi used to talk to that bwoy all the time because every day
him threaten him bredda dem and mi used to tell them to report it.”
Hilda said while her sons all help to take care of her,
there is a special bond between her and Robert.
She shared that she
had a difficult marriage, and her husband died 26 years ago. Two of her sons
also predeceased Robert, one died in England and another in the USA.
“Gary was so close to me. He would come home and the first
thing him do would be to come and look for me and ask if I am alright and if mi
hungry. Him would say ‘Mama Hilda, yu aright mi modda? Yu hungry?’ Him always
checking up on mi to ensure that mi alright. But now him gone, Steve butcher
him.”
She said another of her sons, Ruenth Stoddart, who was named
after his father, is now living with her and has taken up where Robert has left
off.
“You know, I have not gone to the police station to see
Fabian. I just don’t have the feeling to go see him. I can’t bring myself to go
look for him.”
“People claim that he has mental problems. I don’t believe that because somebody who is mental can’t drive taxi fi people, bring their correct money to them and when he gets his money, knows what to make on himself with it. If he gets sick and get tablets, he spits them out.”
“Right now, is the grace of God keeping me. My Church has
been good to – me Bethel Assembly. The pastor and members have been so helpful;
they are a tower of strength. As I say,
is only God keeping me, only him because without him, I can’t manage this,”
bemoans Mrs. Stoddart.
Minister of Local Government Minister, Desmond McKenzie (right) and Mayor of Falmouth, Colin Gager, as they address the traffic situation in Falmouth at a recent council meeting
Shamir Brown – Correspondent
In light of the
traffic challenges now facing the town of Falmouth, Minister of Local
Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, is recommending changes
to current systems to address the problem.
Speaking at a council meeting in Falmouth recently, the
Minister remarked that Falmouth has undergone a transformation due to increased
development and, which has caused increased traffic from both vehicles and
pedestrians in such a small space.
He notes what has to be looked at seriously is the
restriction of vehicular traffic in certain sections of the town, whether for
the holidays, or on a more permanent basis. He further shared that the council
is within its right to do that and believes that it is something that should be
explored in the quest to solve the traffic woes in the town of Falmouth.
McKenzie related that currently, several towns are facing
similar challenges, owing to persons moving into the town areas for work and
other reasons, thereby contributing to growing traffic problems. “I don’t know
how much policing can help but what we need to start doing is redesigning towns
and moving some activities outside of the town centres,” he shared.
In recent times, the town of Falmouth has seen its traffic
situation grow to challenging sizes, especially on Wednesdays during the Bend
Down Flea Market. It’s with this in mind that the Trelawny Municipal
Corporation has adopted new strategies to deal with this during the festive
season.
Come December 17, as a result of the traffic problems,
drivers will have to adjust their routes as they try to traverse the town of
Falmouth until January 5, 2020, according to Mayor Colin Gager. Speaking at the council meeting on Thursday,
the Mayor remarked that Wednesdays have become particularly chaotic and
therefore, having seen the challenges, the decision was taken to make some
changes to the road network to allow for a smoother flow of traffic in the
town.
The changes will see most of the heavily used Market Street
being set as a single lane thoroughfare coming into the town to better deal
with the challenges associated with the market. There will also be changes
along King Street and Georges Street to deal with traffic coming into the town
and also flowing in the opposite direction. No traffic will be allowed on
Tharpe Street and parking will only be allowed on one side of Market Street for
the period.
Minister of Local Government and Community Development,
Desmond McKenzie, who was in attendance at the meeting, also revealed that he
was in agreement with the move.
FOOTBALL OF GRAB-UP? Allan Ottey of Falmouth United grabs hold of Oshane Russell’s jersey as he tries to gain possession of the ball along the touchline in the highly touted JFF Western Zone Charley’s JB Rum Super Football League match played at the Elleston Wakeland Centre on Sunday. The contest ended in a 0-0 draw.
Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photo
Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts
Two clubs made it two wins from as many
games – Montego Bay United carved out a first victory, and Falmouth are still
yet to tick three points after the second series of matches in first round
action off the JFF Western Zone Charley’s JB Rum Super Football League.
Wadadah, last
year’s beaten finalists and Coopers Pen maintained their perfect start to the
campaign with contrasting 3-1 and 1-0 victories over Hopewell and Reno
respectively on Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15.
Wadadah, behind a double strike from veteran Kemario James in the 41st and 49th minutes, and an outstanding hit on the volley by substitute Remani Pennington on the stroke of full time, just nine minutes after he entered the pitch, steered Wadadah to the come-from-behind win.
Debutants Coopers
Pen pulled off another big upset, this time getting the better of demoted Reno,
1-0, with the all-important goal coming from the penalty spot in the 41st
minute of the contest. Hugh-George Watson was the scorer.
MBU, Coopers Pen tick win
In the meantime,
former Premier League champions Montego Bay United (MBU) and Georges Plain out
of Westmoreland collected their first wins of the season, stopping Super Star
and Harmony3-0 and 1-0.
Omar Brown, with
strikes in each half, found a double for the MBU side, after Nazime Matalie
Grant, who opened his season with an exquisite strike, again found the back of
the net, opening up the scoring on the stroke of the halftime break.
Georges Plain, the
West’land champions, also managed to get their first points of the campaign,
recording a narrow 1-0 victory over Harmony, who had won their opening match.
Elsewhere, the
match-up between Lilliput Rovers and Sandals South Coast was not played as the
home team failed to provide the security needed.
The so-called
powerhouse clash between Faulkland and Falmouth failed to materialize at the
Elleston Wakeland Centre in Trelawny, with the contentious and fractious affair
ending in a scoreless stalemate as scuffles on the pitch dominated.
The goal-mouth
action was few and far between, with both teams shy in attack, with more
physical plays taking place in and around the centre of the park.
MBU and Faulkland,
each with four points, occupy top spot in Zone ‘A’, while Wadadah and Coopers
Pen are the leaders of Zone Two, both having 6 points each.
Super Star and
Hopewell are the bottom clubs as five teams remain without a win after two
outings.
