Mandeville taxi ambush leaves two dead as Gun Court jails businessman over seized firearm

A man who posed as a passenger shot and killed two people in Mandeville, Manchester, on Saturday night before fleeing, police said. The deceased were identified as Danica Pennant, 24, a nursing student from Artist District, and Sadie-Ann Henry, 21, of Greenvale.

Preliminary reports indicate that around 7:30 p.m., Pennant and Henry were among seven occupants in a Toyota public-passenger vehicle travelling the Mandeville to Royal Flat route. A male passenger disembarked at a section of Caledonia Road known as Horseshoe Curve and opened fire on those still inside. Two other occupants were wounded. All injured persons were rushed to Mandeville Regional Hospital, where Pennant was pronounced dead on arrival and Henry died later.

In St. Andrew, 49-year-old businessman Michael Wilson was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in the Gun Court to illegal possession of a firearm. Chief Justice Brian Sykes imposed the term after considering Wilson's track record, though the director of public prosecutions had recommended five years under the Firearms Act.

Wilson's case arose from armed robberies at his Constant Spring Road business on November 29 and December 6, 2024. On the second occasion he reportedly disarmed a robber and shot him, then reported the incident to police without disclosing that he had retained the assailant's weapon for two days. His attorney, Christopher Townsend, entered a plea-bargaining arrangement with the prosecution.

Police have charged 63-year-old Byron Nunes, also of St. Andrew, with allegedly offering a $1,000 bribe during a traffic stop about 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17. Officers on patrol observed him driving a Suzuki Swift without a seatbelt, stopped him, and were preparing a ticket when he allegedly offered cash to avoid the charge. He was arrested and a court date is being finalised.

United States Customs and Border Protection seized more than US$53,800 in undeclared currency on July 1 from a traveller bound for Kingston at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Homeland Security Investigations arrested the individual after officers found the cash despite a declaration that none was being carried. Federal prosecutors accepted money laundering charges under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956. CBP noted that travellers may carry any amount of currency but must declare sums exceeding US$10,000.

The All Voice Taxi Association has called for greater police accountability following an incident last Tuesday on South Avenue, St. Andrew, involving a coaster bus operator. President Lorne Finnegan said available information suggests the driver neither assaulted officers nor resisted arrest in a way that would justify the level of force reportedly used. He warned that confrontations between public-passenger operators and the Jamaica Constabulary Force have increased since late 2025, often involving recently graduated constables, and added: "We cannot operate where we will be having these type of physical and verbal confrontation with the police."