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Stinger gang boss shot dead

Published:Friday | July 23, 2010 | 12:00 AM
In this October 5, 2005 Gleaner photograph, policemen survey a burnt-out house at Barnes Avenue, St Andrew, where four persons, including a 10-year-old, were killed by Stinger gang members. Then gang leader, Marlon 'Little Wicked' Mattie, and his successor, Ricardo Wynter, have since been killed by the police. - File

Hours before the state of emergency ended yesterday, the police finally caught up with one of Jamaica's most wanted men.

Ricardo Wynter, better known on the streets as 'Government', or just 'Gov', to his friends and cronies, was fatally shot during a reported gun battle with policemen in St Catherine yesterday afternoon.

Wynter was the reported head of the infamous Stinger gang, which operates out of Ramsey Road, Barnes Avenue and Raphael Avenue, off Maxfield Avenue, and sections of Arnett Gardens in south St Andrew.

He was wanted for questioning in connection with several murders and was among the first persons of interest named by the police after the May 23 introduction of the state of emergency.

Up to press time, the official report on the incident had not been released, but police sources told The Gleaner that the search for Wynter took them to an upscale community in Hellshire known as Johnson Hill.

The sources say Wynter was found in a house where he engaged the cops in a gunfight.

According to the sources, the alleged gang leader was found with multiple gunshot wounds clutching a firearm.

Ammunition found

Several rounds of ammunition were reportedly found on the premises.

The Stinger Gang has been accused of unleashing a reign of terror on residents of Maxfield Avenue, with many persons forced to flee the area.

The gangsters allegedly combed the community for police snitches, by seizing cellphones from residents to check call logs.

Threats were reportedly issued against anyone whose telephone contacts proved that they were in touch with the police.

The gang has been on the police radar for many years, with its members accused of several shootings in Maxfield Avenue communities.

Among the killings blamed on the gang was the 2005 massacre of 10-year-old Sasha-Kaye Brown, her grandparents Gerald and Dorcas Brown, and aunt, Michelle Brown, in their house on Barnes Avenue.

That made the gang the target of several police operations. Lawmen managed to cut down the then gang leader, Marlon 'Little Wicked' Mattie.

He was reportedly replaced by 'Government', who returned to the community after being freed of a criminal charge.