Former Soldier Charged In 2014 Portmore Double Murder After ODPP Ruling

A former soldier sought in connection with a double killing in Portmore in 2014 has been arrested and charged by the St Catherine South Police, after a decision from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions reopened movement in the long-running matter. Solomon Powell was taken into custody on May 8 in relation to the killings, which police say had remained under investigation for 12 years.

Powell, 63, is listed as being from West Great House Circle in Havendale, St Andrew, and Windsor Heights in Central Village, St Catherine. He was 50 when he was initially detained in the case involving the deaths of Livingston Garvey and Mario Cross, who were killed on March 7, 2014, at the junction of Dyke Road and Municipal Boulevard in Portmore, St Catherine.

Detective Superintendent Throyville Haughton, who heads operations in the St Catherine South Division, said Powell, also called "Salla", had remained a person connected to the investigation, but investigators needed more material before a charge could be brought.

Haughton said Powell had previously been held soon after the killings, but was released because the police did not then have all the required evidence. He said the DPP's ruling this year made Powell a wanted man, and that he was eventually found after a search that included raids in Kingston and St Catherine. Haughton added that "no case is cold enough that justice cannot be achieved".

According to Haughton, the ODPP ruling and Powell's arrest came out of a 12-year investigation. He also said policing methods now being used in St Catherine South have helped the division record its lowest murder rate since it was formed in the mid-1990s.

He said the division's work takes in both internal and external stakeholders, with emphasis on a disciplined system built on strong intelligence, practical tactics, quick response, persistent follow-up, staff empowerment, and the use of science and technology.

Haughton said the police have arrested suspects in sexual offence cases and laid charges on the same day identification parades were conducted. He said teams have also located wanted people across Jamaica, including in St Elizabeth, where a fugitive wanted for murder and other gang-related offences for more than six years was found.

He further said officers have disrupted criminals before crimes were carried out, and shortly afterwards, in several parts of the division because of the way police teams have been deployed. Haughton said members of the division are highly motivated, understand the strategies being used, and have earned the confidence of the management team.