Portmore double murder, St. Catherine acquittal, and JCSA wage ultimatum mark Sunday bulletin

Three people were shot at a house on White Lane in Nago Head, Portmore, St. Catherine, on Sunday morning, leaving two dead and one woman hospitalised. Police say that around 4:30 a.m., armed men with high-powered rifles forced their way inside and opened fire on 19-year-old delivery worker Michael Elliot, also known as Bob Slumber or Bull of Clifton District, and 17-year-old Kendrick Ibanks, alias Wealthy Stunts of Nago Head, in separate parts of the building. A 27-year-old woman was also struck in the upper body elsewhere in the dwelling. All three were taken to Spanish Town Hospital, where Elliot and Ibanks were pronounced dead; the woman remains under treatment. The Major Organised Crime Investigation Division is investigating.

In St. Catherine Circuit Court on Friday, a judge upheld a no-case submission and freed a 30-year-old man who had faced a rape charge. The Crown had led evidence that in July 2023 the complainant, at the Portmore home she shared with the accused, reported that he raped her. Portmore police investigated, the man was arrested and charged, and he denied the allegation through repeated court appearances. During the trial it was established that the pair had been in a consensual sexual relationship and that no rape occurred.

Opposition Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth North East Zelica Jess told a Norman Gardens Divisional Conference on Saturday at Reno Lodge Primary and Junior High School that broken court services in the parish are blocking access to justice. She said there is no court in Savanna-la-Mar, the parish court system is in disarray, and Black River also lacks a functioning court. Jess also criticised the government’s agreement to receive third-country nationals from the United States, citing overcrowded prisons and public safety. Minister of National Security Dr. Harris Chang has said persons with criminal antecedents will not be accepted and that no more than 25 people would be sent to Jamaica at any one time. Jess insisted, “Jamaica is not a dumping ground. It’s not Riverton. Jamaica deserves better and you deserve better.”

Jamaica Civil Service Association President Tesher Clark Griffiths warned that public servants may disrupt work if the government does not settle an outstanding wage claim. Addressing an awards ceremony for the Manchester chapter at the Manchester Parish Library in Mandeville, she said workers deserve timely, fair pay. Griffiths said negotiations remain unfinished 14 months after the bargaining period ended, leaving retroactive salary payments outstanding, and that the JCSA and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions have told the government they will not wait indefinitely.

From Monday, June 22, authorised dealers importing new motor vehicles will no longer face mandatory pre-release verification by the Jamaica Customs Agency. Vehicles will clear and be released immediately, with verification carried out afterward. Finance Minister Fayval Williams said the shift supports productivity and ease of doing business; acting Commissioner Kirk Benjamin said it should cut delays, costs, and port congestion while letting customs focus on higher-risk shipments.