Fatal police shooting in St Elizabeth among Sunday crime and safety updates across Jamaica

Crime and public-safety developments across several parishes headlined the news on Sunday, 21 June 2026, led by a fatal police shooting in St Elizabeth and a consumer warning tied to illegally slaughtered cattle in Clarendon.

Dwight Ferguson, also known as Dwayne or Tuffy, of Thornton, St Elizabeth, died Friday night during an encounter with the police. Senior sources said officers carried out a targeted raid in Thornton around 9:30 p.m. in search of Ferguson. He reportedly ran into a house as police approached and would not open the door. After officers breached the entrance, Ferguson was seen holding a firearm, police said. He allegedly refused orders to drop the weapon and pointed it at officers. Police said they took evasive action and shot him. Ferguson was pronounced dead at hospital, and a 9mm pistol was seized.

In Mandeville, detectives have classified as death by misadventure the case of an unidentified dreadlocked man found under a pear tree on Jackson Drive overnight. A homeowner discovered him on his back Saturday morning near crocus bags filled with pears and a broken branch. He was dressed in grey sweatpants, a brown sweater, and a red undershirt. Police believe he fell while picking pears on another person's property.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force Agricultural Protection Branch urged caution when buying beef after eight cows were stolen and illegally slaughtered in Clarendon between Friday and Saturday. About 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a farmer found the animals missing. They were later found slaughtered near the PJ Patterson Highway, in the St Diego Road and Duke Street area. The meat did not undergo mandatory veterinary inspection. Reports can be made to the APBT at 658-219-2063, to 119, or to Crime Stop.

Twenty-five-year-old Chad Campbell, a labourer of Yallahs Town, St Catherine, was charged with murder on Friday in the fatal stabbing of his 23-year-old nephew Delamar Mullins, also of Yallahs Town. Police said the incident occurred about 8:00 p.m. on 17 June at Campbell's home during a dispute over television volume while a World Cup football match was on. Mullins died at Linstead Hospital after a chest wound. Campbell was arrested the same night.

Eastern Portland Member of Parliament Buchanan, who is also opposition spokesman on youth and human rights, said he was deeply saddened and outraged after 12-year-old Crystal McLean's body was found in Grants Rio Grande, Portland, on Wednesday. In a Saturday statement, he described the killing as a horrific act of violence against a child, offered support to the family for funeral arrangements, and called for a swift police investigation. "The people of Portland deserve answers. More importantly, Crystal deserves justice," he said.

Three women have been charged with embezzlement over an alleged months-long refund fraud at a food store on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew between October 2025 and April 2026. Charged are Jordy Kay Harrison, 35, of Norwood Road, Kingston 2; Tanisha Wade, 39, of Mount Friendship, Mount James; and Nikisha Evans, 46, of Darley Crescent. Investigators say Harrison, a cashier supervisor, conspired with Wade and Evans to process refunds without customer requests and keep nearly $1.8 million. Court dates are being finalised.