Bronx murder charge and St Mary manslaughter plea lead Jamaican news roundup

A Jamaican man has been charged after his niece was fatally shot in the Bronx, New York, shortly before midnight on Monday. Michael Foster, 58, was arrested and on Wednesday charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Jordana Anderson, whose parents are Jamaican, was shot twice in the chest while inside a Jeep Grand Cherokee near Murdock Avenue in Wakefield. She was pronounced dead at Jacobi Hospital. Police recovered two spent casings but have not established a motive. Witnesses reported hearing two shots and seeing a moped leaving the area, although investigators have not determined whether its rider was involved. Anderson, who lived in Mount Vernon with her mother, Beverly Patterson, was reportedly returning from work. Relatives said she assisted people with disabilities and was one month away from turning 40.

In St Mary, Constable Patrick Walters, 24, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to manslaughter and using a firearm to commit a felony. Walters had originally been charged with murdering his girlfriend, Dashanique Graham, 20, at her Richmond home on June 25, 2025. The court heard that a dispute developed around 9:15 p.m., after which both were found with apparent gunshot wounds. Graham died at Port Maria Hospital. Following an investigation and review by the Director of Public Prosecutions, murder and firearm charges were authorised on July 17, 2025. Walters, represented by attorney Dannion Martin, will be sentenced on September 25.

Attorneys also clashed during the trial of six policemen accused of killing Matthew Lee, Euclif Dyer and Demark Allen on Acadia Drive on January 12, 2013. Hugh Wildman questioned an Independent Commission of Investigations officer about attempted access to an apartment where Agriculture Minister Floyd Green lived and alleged contact with prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyne. The officer denied speaking with Pyne while testifying. Prosecutors challenged how the defence obtained information about the apartment, while Alf Grantacoppin argued that its occupants were not listed Crown witnesses. Green and a woman are eyewitnesses to events surrounding the alleged police shootout, though neither said they saw the men being shot. The defendants are Sergeant Steve Wright Mott, Corporal Donavon Fullerton and Constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Oral Randy Rose and Richard Lynch. Fullerton also faces a false-statement charge.

In St Thomas, search teams recovered the body of Kamal Reynolds, a 16-year-old Munro College student from St Elizabeth. Police said he disappeared while swimming with students at Shelly Beach on Wednesday. The search resumed Thursday after being suspended overnight. Yallahs police and the Marine Police are investigating.