St Elizabeth crash victim named as police probe killings, gun seizure and JPS blackout

Police across Jamaica are handling several serious incidents, including two fatal crashes in St Elizabeth, the killing of a Montego Bay vendor, a firearm seizure in Manchester, and charges in the murder of a Negril restaurant operator.

In St James, 42-year-old Calvin Pine, of Orange in the parish, was shot dead on Saturday night in Montego Bay. Police said his body was discovered about 11:30 p.m. on Miriam Way with gunshot injuries. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. Pine was among three men who tried to save people swept away by floodwaters in Montego Bay on April 19, 2022. Beryl Walters and her granddaughter Janelle were washed away; Janelle’s body was later found, while Walters remains missing.

Manchester police detained a man after a Sunday morning operation at a house in Plowden, South Manchester, where officers reportedly found a 9mm pistol and 19 matching rounds about 5:00 a.m. Separately, an unidentified dreadlocked man was found dead in bushes in Richmond, Manchester, about 7:00 a.m. Saturday with a wound to the neck. A post-mortem is pending.

In St Elizabeth, 59-year-old Lowlin Johnson, of Prospect District, New Balbeck, Manchester, died after a three-vehicle collision on the Content main road near Santa Cruz about 9:00 p.m. Saturday. Police said a Toyota Townace tried to pass a King Long coach bus and entered the path of Johnson’s Toyota Corolla, which then struck the bus. Less than 24 hours earlier, five-month-old Kemola Forbes died after a three-vehicle crash on the Pepper main road. Her mother was admitted in critical condition.

In Westmoreland, police charged 21-year-old Joshua Vass, also called Josh, of Negril, with murder and other offences in the May 22 killing of restaurant owner Nashon Myrie Gibbons, also known as Bubba or Bubba Nash. Police said he was held in Whitehall on May 26 and charged on June 5.

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz also criticised Jamaica Public Service after an islandwide power outage on Friday. JPS said lightning affected key transmission infrastructure, causing a cascading grid failure. The company said power was restored by 6:30 a.m., while regulators requested a preliminary report by Monday and a full report within 30 days.