News Briefs

Fletcher sent to cool murder hotspot

Superintendent Aaron Fletcher has been parachuted in to head the murder-plagued St Andrew North Division, which is the second bloodiest police zone in the country.

Fletcher, who had been transferred to lead the St Thomas Police Division in mid-January, replaces Superintendent Allison Byfield.

It was not immediately clear where Byfield will be posted.

Known as a hands-on cop who personally polices the streets, Fletcher faces a daunting task, given a near quadrupling of murders in St Andrew North this year. Police data show that murders climbed to 27 up to February 29, almost 300 per cent more than the seven recorded for the corresponding period last year.

Shootings are also up, by 150 per cent, with 20 recorded in the first 60 days of 2020 compared to eight reported for the corresponding period last year.

Murder hotspots in the division include Stony Hill, Red Hills Road, and Ackee Walk.

Overall, there have been 233 murders nationally, an 11.5 per cent increase year-on-year.

One killed, three wounded in March Pen shooting

The St Catherine North police are searching for a group of men who shot and killed one man and wounded two others on Tuesday morning.

Dead is Robert Clarke, otherwise called 'Batter', a 42-year-old unemployed man of March Pen Road, Spanish Town, St Catherine.

Reports are that about 7:45 a.m., the three men were standing along the roadway when two men alighted from a white motor car and fired on the group.

All three were taken to the Spanish Town Hospital, where Clarke succumbed to his injuries. The other two men were admitted for treatment.

Police personnel have yet to established a motive for the attack.

Cop charged with girlfriend's murder freed

A policeman who was charged with the murder of his girlfriend more than a decade ago was freed in the St Catherine Circuit Court on Monday.

Freed is Okaroe Bennett, 31, of Greater Portmore, St Catherine, and the Narcotics division.

The Crown revealed on Monday that it had failed to establish a case of murder against the accused.

As a result, High Court judge, Justice Bertram Morrison, directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Bennett was represented by attorneys-at-law Carolyn Reid-Cameron, Queen's Counsel, and Kimani Brydson.

His appearance in court arose from an incident on June 24, 2009, in Portmore. Bennett claimed that while playing with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Jobson, at home, his service pistol accidentally went off, hitting her. She was taken to the Spanish Town Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

Bennett made numerous court appearances and maintained his innocence throughout.