Negril murder charge, JPS blackout report and deadly crashes in Jamaica news roundup

A 21-year-old man from Westmoreland has been charged in relation to the May 22 killing of Negril restaurant owner Nashan Matt Gibbon, also called Abuba or Buba Nash. Police named the accused as Joshua Vaz, also known as Josh, of Negril, and said he faces charges of murder, wounding with intent, robbery with aggravation, and using a firearm to commit a felony after a shooting at McGibza restaurant.

Investigators from the Savanna-la-Mar Criminal Investigation Branch reported that about 8:40 p.m., the 36-year-old businessman was at his establishment when Vaz and another man allegedly attacked him. The gunmen are accused of shooting him several times, pursuing him as he tried to escape, then taking a bag with a laptop and an unknown amount of cash. A European visitor was also shot in the left shoulder. Vaz was arrested during a police operation in Whitehall on Tuesday, May 26, and charged on Friday, June 5, after being positively identified. His court date is being arranged.

In St. James, workers discovered a man's body among garbage at the Retirement landfill shortly after a reported killing about 8:00 a.m. The body was dressed in a yellow and black shirt, and police were sent to the scene. Part of the landfill has remained ablaze since Friday, with Western Parks and Markets and the Jamaica Fire Brigade responding.

A toddler died after a two-vehicle crash on Pepper main road in St. Elizabeth on Saturday morning. Police preliminary information said the child was travelling with three others in a Toyota Voxy about 10:30 a.m. when it collided with a pickup. Five injured persons were taken to Mandeville Regional Hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.

The Office of Utilities Regulation has ordered Jamaica Public Service to submit, by Monday, an initial account of the islandwide blackout that began about 9:00 p.m. Friday, June 5, and continued into Saturday. The OUR wants details on the cause, system impact, response, stability and immediate steps to prevent a repeat; JPS must later provide a fuller report within 30 days of power restoration under the Electricity Act, 2015.

The Meteorological Service said a trough near the central Caribbean will keep conditions unsettled through midweek, bringing cloudiness, showers and thunderstorms, especially across eastern and south-central parishes. Strong winds linked to a low-level jet stream are expected mainly over southern parishes, and fishers along the south coast are being urged to use extreme caution.

The Island Traffic Authority said road deaths up to June 5 are down by 49 compared with the same period in 2025, a 30 per cent reduction. Motorcyclists, pedestrians, private vehicle drivers, passengers and pedal cyclists remain among the main fatality groups, with vulnerable road users accounting for 57 per cent of deaths and males 83 per cent.

At Up Park Camp, investigators returned Saturday after a Friday night fire destroyed Jamaica Defence Force living quarters. The JDF said the blaze started about 7:41 p.m. in the barracks area and was put out by its fire unit with support from Rollington Town, Half-Way Tree, York Park, Trench Town and Spanish Town fire stations. No injuries were reported.