INDECOM probes fatal police shooting in Spanish Town as Manchester crime rises and FID wins J$2M forfeitures

The Independent Commission of Investigations has opened a probe into the fatal police shooting of a man during an early-morning operation in the Cory Hill area of Spanish Town, St. Catherine.

The deceased has been identified only by the alias Ren of Cory Hill. Police reports state that around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, officers from the St. Catherine North Proactive Investigation Unit and the Area Reserve fugitive apprehension team were conducting an operation in the community in search of gunmen, including a wanted suspect. Investigators said that upon reaching Port Henderson Glades Boulevard, officers saw two men scaling a fence at the rear of a premises. The men were challenged and allegedly opened fire. Police took evasive action and returned fire. When the shooting ended, Ren was found suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. A Taurus pistol fitted with a magazine containing three 9mm cartridges was reportedly seized. The wounded man was taken to Spanish Town Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In Manchester, Mayor Donovan Mitchell has linked an uptick in violence to lottery scamming, arguing that some offenders relocated from Montego Bay, St. James, and other parts of western Jamaica because of intensified policing. Viral social media clips showing champagne poured over cars, money tossed into the air, and high-end liquor splashed at parties have fuelled concern about a culture of flashy excess tied to illicit funds. Mitchell said in an interview that such behaviour makes the source of the money obvious. Police serious crimes data up to 20 June show Manchester recorded a 41.7% rise in murders, with 17 killings, and a 34.4% increase in shootings, while national murder and shooting figures fell by 21% and 31% respectively.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Phillips, commander for Area 3 covering St. Elizabeth, Manchester, and Clarendon, told a recent civic meeting in Engleside, Mandeville, that officers have intensified Operation Reset to break up criminal networks and disrupt lottery scamming linked to violence. Phillips said scammers who migrated to the area would find conditions increasingly uncomfortable and urged Manchester residents to support the effort. Mitchell added that growing apartment complexes and gated communities in Mandeville have made the parish attractive to people renting for short periods without neighbours knowing their backgrounds.

The Financial Investigations Division, acting as Jamaica's asset recovery agency under the Proceeds of Crime Act, reported Friday that it secured cash forfeiture orders in two parish court matters totalling more than J$2 million. On Wednesday, the St. Ann's Bay Parish Court ordered forfeiture in a case involving Demoy Campbell and Joshua Campbell, including J$1,232,000, Canadian $1,800, and US $5 linked to Demoy Campbell, and J$635,000 linked to Joshua Campbell. The matter arose from a July 2024 operation in St. Ann during which officers found J$635,000 in a bag in Joshua Campbell's possession; searches at a Discovery Bay, St. Ann residence uncovered additional cash in Jamaican, Canadian, and US currencies after the men offered conflicting explanations about the funds' origin.

In a separate matter, the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court Civil Division on Tuesday ordered forfeiture of J$251,000 seized from Peter Manning Jr. during an April 2024 motor vehicle stop along Spanish Town Road in Kingston. Officers found cash in a bag inside the vehicle but no contraband at the time. Manning later provided a sworn statement indicating the money was intended to purchase marijuana, which prompted a search of his residence where marijuana was found. He subsequently consented to the cash being treated as proceeds of criminal activity, after which the forfeiture order was made.