INDECOM opens probe into Spanish Town fatal shooting as Manchester police revisit Jayden Smith case

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has opened a probe into the fatal shooting of a man by police along the Spanish Town bypass in St. Catherine on Saturday.

Police identified the deceased as Joan Powell, also known as Fully Bad and John Whip of Spanish Town. Officers said that around 6:12 p.m. they received reports of an armed man driving from the Capellan community toward the bypass. A team in an unmarked vehicle spotted a man matching the description near Food for the Poor property, approached him, and identified themselves. Police reported that he allegedly drew a gun and fired at them. Officers returned fire after taking evasive action. Powell was wounded, taken to Spanish Town Hospital, and pronounced dead. A revolver loaded with four live rounds and two spent casings was recovered.

In Manchester, police say additional resources will support the investigation into the disappearance of Manchester High School student Jayden Smith, who went missing last September. Deputy Superintendent Odin Dennis, the division's newly appointed head, told journalists on Monday that cold-case investigators would examine the file with fresh eyes. "So that is one that has come to my attention and it is of particular importance to me because it involves a child. Um that's our future right and um we will ensure that we have a set of um cold case um investigators sit down and have a a set of fresh eyes look at that matter with the intention of having it cleared up as soon as possible," he said.

Specialized Operations officers in St. Catherine South seized a Browning single-action pistol and a magazine containing cartridges during an early-morning operation in Zambia Central Village on Tuesday, June 30. The items were found in an unfinished building. No arrest was made.

In St. Ann, a man wanted for questioning in the June 6 killing of 34-year-old vendor Jessica Howell was handed over to police by his attorney on Monday evening. Senior Superintendent Carlos Russell, head of the local police division, said the suspect would be questioned. Police allege the suspect, who was in a relationship with Howell, called her outside her home around 5:00 a.m., an argument followed, and her throat was slashed with a ratchet knife before he fled in a silver Toyota bus.

Two Kingston women have been charged in Barbados after a narcotics unit investigation. Judith Anarie Brown, 57, of Alexander Road, faces possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply, trafficking, and importation charges. Dorin Veronica King, 63, of Wavel Avenue, was also charged, though police did not immediately release details.

Giovanni McFarland, 23, a labourer of Kingston 20, was granted $800,000 bail on Tuesday in St. Catherine Parish Court after his attorney Donna Yu Martin argued identification was in dispute and noted he had surrendered to police. McFarland is charged with robbery and wounding with intent over a violent March incident in St. Catherine in which a businessman was stabbed and robbed. He is to return to court on September 22.

Chief Justice Brian Sykes said motorists appearing before the courts should continue to expect demerit points and licence disqualification where the law requires. His clarification follows Transport Minister Daryl Vaz's announcement that administrative suspension of the demerit-point system ends on September 30, with full operation from October 1. Sykes noted that road traffic breaches are criminal matters and that courts must apply demerit points on conviction under the applicable Road Traffic Act, whether the 1938 or 2018 legislation governs the offence.