... - Four gunmen charged for Retirement killings, policemen held in lottery scam
December 08, 2006
Six persons including two police constables have been jailed for their alleged involvement in the escalating crime wave in St. James, which has left at least 31 people dead over the past four weeks.
Deputy Superintendent Michael Scott, head of the St. James Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), said the constables were taken into custody on Saturday, for reportedly confiscating $97,000 from two key players in the illicit lottery scam, without arresting them.
Identification parade
"They are scheduled to appear before an identification parade next week," he disclosed at a Gleaner Editors' Forum in Montego Bay yesterday.
Their detentions came a week after Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas instructed the Professional Standards Branch (PSB) to vigorously pursue intelligence on police personnel involved in corrupt activities in St. James.
Fourteen cops from the division have been arrested for breaches of the Anti-Corruption Act over the past 18 months.
Meanwhile, the other four men have been charged with the November 18 multiple killing of four family members in the community of Retirement. Three other members of that family were also shot and injured in that incident.
Charged with four counts of murder, wounding with intent, shooting and illegal possession of firearm are 21-year-old Ricardo 'Stickman' Taylor; Ricky 'Tappa Rat' Thorpe, 23; Sylvan 'Penguin' Green 22, and 24-year-old Alroy Shaw, all of Retirement and Granville addresses.
The men were taken from a bus, which was among a motorcade returning from the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) 63rd annual conference in Kingston. The bus was stopped along the Rose Hall main road in St. James on November 19....
Author: Nagra Plunkett and Glenroy Sinclair
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
