Portland rocked by two murders in less than 24 hours
Published:Sunday | January 1, 2023 | 1:28 AMGareth Davis Sr - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Two murders in less than 24 hours have rocked the peaceful parish of Portland, which holds the distinction of being the safest islandwide.
In the first incident, 54-year-old Calvin James was stabbed to death during a dispute with a man shortly after 11 p.m. Friday at Halls Avenue (Free School) in Port Antonio at a gambling den.
Reports are that James was watching a game of cards, but was warned and threatened by a man, who was reportedly losing his money. According to the police, James, who made comments about the game, was later involved in an argument with the man and was stabbed several times.
The attacker fled the scene and James was taken to the Port Antonio Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In the second incident, the police were summoned to Smatt Road in Port Antonio shortly after 6 a.m. yesterday, where the body of a man, known only as ‘Jerro’, was found on the veranda of the Friends Church with his head bashed in.
Both murders come on the heels of the shooting death of Courtney ‘France Nero’ Clarke, who, according to the police, was one of Portland’s violence producers. Clarke was killed by unknown assailant(s) on December 17 at about 1 a.m. while closing up his shop at Norwich in the parish.
Fourteen persons have been murdered in Portland since the start of 2022.