New St James police chief vows to energise crime fight, The Gleaner June 17, 2022

Superintendent Carlos Russell, the acting St James commander, is planning to ramp up the crime fight with a renewed push to flush out gangsters and lottery scammers and recover illegal guns in the island’s bloodiest police division.

The parish, home to the tourism capital of Montego Bay, recorded 106 murders up to June 12 – a year-on-year 34.2 per cent increase – nearly twice as many as second-place Westmoreland, which saw 65 homicides.

“We are putting in strategies to deal with the crime situation and also the public order in the town of Montego Bay,” Russell told The Gleaner yesterday. ‘’We are working with our intelligence, also our Criminal Investigation Branch, [and] we are targeting the gangsters, we are going after the guns, and we are also looking at the lottery scammers.”

He said that community policing will play a key role in shoring up efforts to strengthen the relationship between the police and citizens of the parish.

Yesterday, the St James police released the names of several persons being sought for questioning in connection with active investigations.

Among them is Tadjay Clarke, otherwise called ‘Fat Head’, who is of a Salt Spring address in the parish and who cops believe can assist in the probe into a triple murder committed in Rose Heights last month.

Christopher Campbell, a Norwood resident otherwise called ‘Big Foot’ who recently returned from prison, is also being sought for questioning as sleuths probe a double murder in Hendon, Norwood, over a week ago.

Among others the police believe can assist with information in murder probes are Oshane Earle, otherwise called ‘Motumbo’, of Lottery and Spring Gardens; Kenroy Roach, otherwise called ‘Ticka’, of Hampton; Romaine Thorpe, otherwise called ‘Dutchman’, of Lilliput; Oran Dunn, otherwise called ‘Mike’, of Paradise in Norwood; Leon Higgins, otherwise called ‘Foota’, of Rose Heights; Shaquille Brown, of 5 William Street in Montego Bay; Shane Morgan, otherwise called ‘Okay’, of Upper King Street in Montego Bay; Marshal Dillon, otherwise called ‘Jesus’, of Norwood; Cliff Henry, of no fixed address; and Joshua Anderson, otherwise called ‘Josh’, of Norwood Heights.

Eighteen other men were also asked to get in touch with cops regarding other investigations.

The men are Alex Scott, of Providence Heights; Jim Lee, of Rent Land in Mount Carey; Kevin Whyte, otherwise called ‘Chucky Don’, of Mount Carey; Javaughn Campbell, otherwise called ‘Cooking Oil’, of Mount Salem; Sheldon Grey, of Granville; Kaval Duncan, of Flower Hill; and Daniel Grey, otherwise called ‘Ten Floor’.

Lexroy Vaz of Sandy Bay, Hanover, was named as wanted for escaping custody.

Miquel Michael, of Herlock district; Torr Bennett, of Rose Heights; Kevon Francis, of Pitfour Capture Land; Romaine Barnett, of Mount Carey; Ansthson Bedward, of Norwood; Howard Brown; a man identified only as’Oshane’; and another identified as ‘Andrew Blacks’ were also asked to get in touch with the police.

The men, or anyone knowing their whereabouts, are being asked to contact the Montego Bay Police Station in Freeport, police 119, Crime Stop 311, or the nearest police station.