Trelawny crash victims identified as police report 134 road deaths and US deportation memo surfaces

Authorities have identified three men who died in a three-vehicle crash on the Braco Main Road in Trelawny on Wednesday night. The deceased are Javel Johns and Jamar Johnson, both of Flanker addresses in St. James, and 23-year-old Clinton Douglas of Majestic Gardens, Kingston 11. Police said the collision occurred around 9:00 p.m. and involved a Toyota Hiace, a Toyota Fielder, and a Toyota Voxy. Johnson was driving the Voxy when the Fielder driver reportedly attempted to overtake another vehicle, resulting in the crash. The Trelawny police are investigating.

In Manchester, a man known by the alias Lobster was fatally shot during an early-morning police operation in Bentel Town, near New Forest in South Manchester, on Thursday. A police source said a 9 mm pistol was seized following an alleged confrontation. The operation follows Monday's launch of Operation Reset by Area 3 police targeting criminals, particularly lottery scammers linked to violence.

Separately, 19-year-old motorcyclist Andrew Williams, a resident of Hatfield, Manchester, died on Tuesday after a two-vehicle crash on Lockwood Muse Road, about 300 metres south of its junction with Hatfield Main Road, around 4:30 p.m. Police said Williams was thrown from his green Symba CG 200 motorcycle upon impact with a Honda motorcar and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Road fatality figures show 134 deaths recorded nationally up to 6:00 a.m. Thursday, compared with 176 for the same period last year. The tally includes the Trelawny crash and a death on the Landover Main Road in St. Ann on Wednesday morning.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Division is seeking 38-year-old Gary Bennett, whose last known address is Woodford Park, Kingston 4, in connection with larceny and engaging in a transaction involving criminal property. Police allege that while employed as an accountant between October and December 2024, Bennett misappropriated more than $2 million from a company. Anyone with information is asked to contact the fraud squad at 876-922-2374, Crime Stop at 311, or the nearest police station.

In Portland, a body in an advanced state of decomposition, believed to be that of missing 12-year-old Crystal McLean, was found in the Rio Grande at Pen Level on Wednesday. McLean, of Berrydale, had been reported missing since Friday, June 12. Rafters discovered the remains shortly after midday and alerted police. Residents said the head was submerged and a nearby bag held clothing and school books believed to belong to McLean, who attended Bond the Brook Primary School and Port Antonio High School. Portland police await autopsy results to confirm identity and cause of death.

A diplomatic note from the United States Embassy in Kingston states that Minister without Portfolio Audrey Marks, with responsibility for efficiency, innovation and digital transformation, proposed an arrangement for Jamaica to receive up to 10,000 third-country nationals from the United States. The note says Marks raised the matter with a US Department of Homeland Security official at the Americas Counter Cartel Conference at US Southern Command in Miami, Florida, on March 5, 2026. The government has maintained there is no agreement for 10,000 third-country nationals to transit through Jamaica's ports.

National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang confirmed a memorandum of understanding has been signed but said the figure does not represent an agreed quota. He told Wednesday's post-Cabinet briefing that deportees would transit through the island to their home or a third country, and that those wishing to remain would have to apply to the courts for asylum. Chang said up to 25 third-country nationals could be sent from the US every two weeks, with transfers paused if 10 or more remain in Jamaica for more than 30 days. Opposition spokesman Fitz Jackson said the public was not informed about the arrangement and called for the MOU to be tabled in Parliament before implementation. Chang called questions about Jamaica's benefit irrelevant, stating: "America is one of our strongest bilateral partners."