Former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Latoya Malcolm dies amid Saturday court and crime roundup

Former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Latoya Malcolm has died, the organisation said Saturday without stating a cause of death. Malcolm took part in the 2024 Miss Universe Jamaica competition.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Miss Universe Jamaica alumna Latoya Malcolm, who proudly competed in the 2024 Miss Universe Jamaica competition. Our heartfelt condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones. Rest in peace, Latoya. You will never be forgotten," the organisation said.

In the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday, Rohan Maxwell was fined $14,000 after pleading guilty to unlawful parking, using indecent language and disorderly conduct at Norman Manley International Airport on March 22, 2026. Presiding judge Peter Wilson said Maxwell’s behaviour at the airport was unacceptable and advised him to park farther away and wait until the person he was collecting had arrived before driving in to pick them up. Maxwell was ordered to pay $10,000 or serve three days’ imprisonment for unlawful parking, and $2,000 or three days each for indecent language and disorderly conduct.

Also before Wilson, a man identified as Louis, charged with assault occasioning bodily harm against his father-in-law, was referred to restorative justice. The judge said Louis could not disrespect his father-in-law, noting the older man was an elder and a Christian, and that he expected Louis’s partner to side with him. Louis told the court his father-in-law had shown him no respect. Wilson urged him to rethink that position and said he was not convinced restorative justice would end the conflict, remarking that Louis looked ready to fight again, before sending the matter to restorative justice. Louis is due back in court on November 11, 2026.

Sherwin Crawford, charged with assaulting a female after allegedly striking his stepdaughter over claims she had hit a younger sibling, was also referred to restorative justice. Wilson described the case as a family dispute and said the saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was a thing of the past. He spoke to the girl, who was in court with her mother, asking whether anger management or counselling might help after noting what he called a displeased look on her face, and told her to fix her expression and lose the attitude. She replied that her face always looked that way. Crawford’s bail was extended and he is to return on October 30, 2026.

St. Catherine police are investigating the Thursday death of 28-year-old Donny Thomas of Hiberna, Manchester. About 8:30 p.m., police said Thomas and a man were travelling in a 1997 Honda Civic along the PJ Patterson Highway when an argument broke out. Thomas opened the passenger door and jumped from the moving car, then was run over by another vehicle travelling closely behind. The second driver fled and officers are searching for that person.

In the United States, six Jamaican men accused of belonging to a violent street gang in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, were arrested and charged with gun-trafficking and drug offences after a 14-month investigation. They were named as Robert Pitgreave, 30, and Andrew Pitgreave, 37, both of Queens; Clayton Solomon, 48, of Elmont and Laurelton; Shaheed Folks, 25, of Queens; Raheem Smith, 22, of Jamaica, Queens; and Jamari Perry, 35, of Springfield Gardens. Investigators recovered 47 firearms, including weapons with high-capacity magazines, one kilogramme of cocaine and 150 grammes of heroin, and linked the guns to shootings in Suffolk County and Alabama. Authorities allege Smith, Folks and Perry are in the United States illegally and connect them to a Jamaica-based gang. The probe began with a routine traffic stop in 2025 and uncovered weapons being sold across the region, including near a school. The six face 100 counts across 13 offences, including first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and firearm-sale charges. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said, "This is one of the largest gun trafficking cases that I have seen in my 37 years in the District Attorney's office," adding that any one of the nearly 50 guns could have caused untold harm. County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the takedown was of historic proportions and would make Nassau County and the wider region safer. Further arrests and additional charges remain possible.