23-y-o alleged gangster charged over murders, arson and beheading in Gregory Park

A raft of charges, including murder, shooting and assault, have been laid against an alleged 23-year-old gangster who the police say has been linked to cases of gang-related homicides, shootings, arson and beheading in Gregory Park, Portmore, St Catherine.

He is Tyrese Taylor, otherwise called 'Reddy', of Dover Avenue in Gregory Park, who the police say is a reputed member of the 'Chargie Badness Gang'.

Following investigations into violent incidents that occurred in 2021 and 2023, Taylor was on Thursday charged with four counts of murder, assault at common law, unlawful wounding, aiding and abetting, shooting with intent and arson.

He is also charged with being a participant in a criminal organization, facilitating the commission of an applicable offence by a criminal organization, possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorized possession of ammunition and making use of a firearm to commit a felony.

His court date is being finalised

According to the police, on August 9, 2021, Taylor and other alleged members of the gang, armed with firearms, went to a restaurant and opened fire hitting 39-year-old Omar Ricketts of Christian Pen, Gregory Park, St Catherine, before they escaped on foot in the area.

The police were summoned and Ricketts was taken to hospital where he died.

Months later, on December 18, 2021, about 9:30 a.m., Taylor and other alleged gang members entered a premises in the community, held two men at gunpoint, and bound their hands with electrical cords.

One of the victims was allegedly beaten before the armed men proceeded to another premises.

There, they held another man at gunpoint, decapitated him with a machete, and escaped with the severed head, according to the police.

The deceased was identified as 30-year-old Rafiel Natty of Job Lane, Spanish Town, St Catherine.

His severed head was discovered hours later by residents on Cottage Drive in Gregory Park.

The men who were bound by the attackers managed to free themselves and alerted the police.

In 2023, Taylor and other alleged members of the gang went to Walkers Avenue in Gregory Park about 3:00 a.m. on August 12, where they shot and killed 28-year-old Raneel Haughton, a taxi operator of Walkers Avenue.

The assailants then made their way to another premises on Walkers Avenue where they set several homes on fire, injuring 72-year-old Niomi Gocul, who later died severe burns she sustained during the incident.

Taylor was apprehended during an operation in the parish.

He was following a question-and-answer interview.

Law enforcement in the St Catherine South Division continues to search for the other suspects involved in the incidents.

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