Portland motorist fined $50,000 in bribery case as nurses protest UHWI overcrowding

A Portland motorist who admitted trying to bribe a police officer was fined $50,000 in court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, as several other major stories developed in Jamaica and overseas.

Alty Walters pleaded guilty before Senior Judge Jacqueline Wilcott after offering $5,000 to an officer while being processed for a traffic offence on West Street in Port Antonio on May 22. The cash was produced in court as an exhibit. Judge Wilcott condemned the conduct but noted that Walters's guilty plea worked in his favour by sparing the court further time. He was sentenced under Section 14(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act to pay $50,000 or serve 20 days' hard labour. The fine was paid.

In West Haven, Connecticut, the family of brothers Miguel Blake, 31, and Javier Blake, 34, is raising money to bring their bodies home for burial after both were shot outside a bar around 1:30 a.m. on June 20. Police found the men unresponsive and they were pronounced dead at hospital. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues. Their mother, Marie Blake, set up a GoFundMe account to cover funeral costs and international repatriation. The page, launched two days earlier, had raised US$3,615 toward a US$30,000 goal. Marie Blake said the family is heartbroken and shocked. "As we grieve, we are now faced with a difficult responsibility of bringing them home to Jamaica so they can be laid to rest surrounded by their family and at the place that they called home in their hearts," she said. The family added that funds would cover transport, funeral, burial, and related travel and administrative costs, and noted the pain left behind for the men's children.

Normal operations resumed at the University Hospital of the West Indies after nurses in the accident and emergency department walked off the job on Tuesday morning over severe overcrowding. Hospital administrators said patients were transferred from A&E to inpatient wards to reduce congestion and improve flow. Nurses complained that limited space and retained older beds on wards had blocked replacement beds, leaving some emergency patients held in the department for days despite needing care beyond initial assessment and treatment. The hospital said immediate concerns were addressed, services remain fully open, and patient care is the highest priority.

St. Andrew South police have launched a manhunt for a group of men, including reputed gang leader Shawn Williamson, also known as Wren, after a shooting and arson in the division around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday along Spath Avenue in Kingston 13. A 31-year-old resident was shot and hospitalised. Investigators said the incident stemmed from a family dispute. The complainant was at his girlfriend's home on Mary Avenue when he learned his mother's house was on fire. He went to the property and found it ablaze, leading to a heated argument with a relative. The suspect and his associates left, then allegedly returned and opened fire on his cousin, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Family members rushed the wounded man to hospital. Area Four police have listed Williamson as a person of interest. Assistant Commissioner Michael Phipps, who heads the division, said Williamson was given until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to surrender and that officers are conducting operations to capture him and his alleged associates while monitoring the area around the family dispute.