Samuels wants more facilities for homeless amid fatal attacks in St James
Published:Thursday | September 14, 2023 | 4:03 PM
Acting Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of St James, Eron Samuels, is calling for the facilities in the parish for the homeless to be expanded to help prevent attacks on these persons.
Samuels says this is needed arising from the murders of five homeless people in Montego Bay between July and August.
Samuels made the call while speaking at today's monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.
“We had a series of murders that took place [in Montego Bay] and we tried to keep it down based on the trend that we recognised because we never wanted to create public panic about persons going and killing homeless persons within the parish. We set up a task force that dealt with it and I am pleased to announce that we captured that killer and have since charged him with four counts of murder,” Samuels told the meeting.
Between July 28 and August 20 this year, five homeless people were killed and two others wounded in separate attacks that took place in sections of Montego Bay, with all the victims reportedly being stabbed with a sharp instrument while they were sleeping.
The police have since arrested and Ronaldo Ricketts in connection with four of the five murders, for which he is to be brought before the St James Parish Court on September 20.
Ricketts reportedly confessed to the attacks after he was taken into custody on August 30 for allegedly attempting to abduct and rape a woman while posing as a taxi operator.
“It puts into focus that we still need to expand the facilities for the homeless persons within the parish. I believe the opportunity creates itself for persons who have that sort of tendency when you have so many homeless persons on the street, that they can try to mimic that act again,” said Samuels.
- Christopher Thomas
Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.