St. James Constable Granted $1 Million Bail in Latoya Bulgin Murder Case

Constable Andrew Wilson, the police officer charged with murder in the May 17 shooting death of 45-year-old Latoya Bulgin in Granville, St. James, was offered bail of $1 million with up to three sureties during his second appearance before the St. James Parish Court on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

Wilson, represented by attorneys Peter Champagnie and Michael Hemmings, appeared before Parish Judge Natisha Fairclough-Hilton. Prosecutors disclosed they now hold a statement from the owner of a CCTV camera said to have recorded events surrounding Bulgin's death. Fairclough-Hilton granted bail on condition that Wilson reside at a specified address and report to a designated police station, though neither location was publicly identified for his safety. He was ordered to surrender his travel documents, and a stop order was issued for all ports of entry.

The court was told several prosecution documents remain outstanding, including the ballistic certificate, post-mortem report, and forensic certificate. The matter is scheduled to be mentioned again on July 10. Wilson was arrested on June 3—the day of his first court appearance—after the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled on May 29 that he should be charged. Footage circulated on social media after the incident shows a police officer firing at a vehicle driven by Bulgin. The episode, including the placing of Bulgin's body into a police van, sparked public outrage and protests in Granville, along with renewed calls for body-worn cameras during high-risk police operations.

Opposition spokesman on land and Clarendon Southwestern MP Luton Cousins rejected Prime Minister Andrew Holness's assertion that Jamaica's squatter settlements are harming the country. Holness made the remarks last Friday during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wickham Estate Housing Development in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. Addressing the People's National Party's Milk River divisional conference at the Milk River Primary and Infant School on Sunday, Cousins argued that squatting arose from historical land inequities dating to emancipation.

"I've heard some comments and I found those comments to be unfortunate because a squatter settlement came about from a law that was passed from the days of emancipation," he said. "Our forefathers were not given a fair opportunity to own land in Jamaica, so we had to take land and occupy land that was idle. So, for the Prime Minister of the country to say it's squatter settlements are hurting Jamaica when the same squatter settlements are where they go and they campaign and they beg the people to vote is hypocrisy," he added.

Cousins said the cost of living—not squatting—is the crisis affecting Jamaicans most, and criticised what he described as political inequity in the allocation of government resources. He also targeted the National Works Agency, arguing that political interference was undermining its work, and pointed to deteriorating conditions along Trenton Road outside the agency's Maypen office. He urged the government to consider a direct route from Coleyville through Milk River and Alley towards St. Elizabeth as part of any highway expansion, and called for greater investment in rural communities, citing Milk River Bath and Vernam Field as key development opportunities.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding, speaking on the sidelines of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, urged the government to be transparent about reports that Jamaica and the United States may negotiate an agreement to temporarily hold foreign nationals who have run afoul of American law until they can be transferred to their countries of birth.

"I don't like the way that this has come to light through a leak to a media house. Why isn't the government leveling with the people about what is going on?" Golding said. Reports indicate both countries are expected to begin talks on a third-country nationals arrangement that could see up to 25 foreign nationals hosted in Jamaica every fortnight, though how long any deal would last remains unclear. The government has not yet publicly responded to the article said to be based on a leaked document. Golding stopped short of taking a firm position, saying Jamaicans need more information before the matter can be properly assessed.