Jamaican murder accused jailed in US after escaping custody in St Lucia and Jamaica

Orville Andrew Pernell, a 33-year-old Jamaican from St Mary who was wanted on a murder charge in St Lucia, has been sentenced to 33 months in United States federal prison for possessing a firearm while illegally or unlawfully in the country.

US District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson handed down the sentence on Wednesday. US authorities said Pernell will face removal and extradition proceedings after completing the prison term. Prosecutors said he had escaped custody in St Lucia after being charged with murder on October 8, 2020, and was later arrested in Jamaica on July 21, 2021, before escaping Jamaican custody while awaiting extradition.

Nearly 18 months after that, US immigration officials encountered him near the San Ysidro port of entry on the California-Mexico border, where authorities said he used the name O’Neal Christopher Reed and was allowed into the United States pending immigration proceedings.

Court records said Clayton County sheriff’s deputies in Georgia stopped Pernell on July 21, 2023, after he was allegedly riding a motorcycle at 115 miles per hour. A search reportedly turned up a stolen firearm in his jacket. He was charged with offences including speeding, fleeing, riding without a licence and receiving stolen property, then posted bail and was released in under two months.

Federal investigators later determined in 2025 that Pernell was living in the US under the Reed alias. He was arrested on April 4, 2025, while agents searched his home in Hinesville, Georgia, where they said they found another stolen handgun and an assault rifle with a loaded high-capacity magazine. Pernell pleaded guilty on February 11, 2026. Authorities also said he repeatedly damaged walls at a pre-trial detention facility in what appeared to be escape attempts.

In other court news, defence lawyers in the Clansman gang trial challenged a detective sergeant’s handling of the scene where Zamari McKay’s body was found at an illegal dump along the Lakes Pen main road in St Catherine on August 11, 2022. The witness denied attorney Paul Gentles’ suggestion that he had been negligent.

At Gordon House, Wednesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives was briefly suspended after microphone failures and loud feedback disrupted proceedings. The sitting resumed after technicians restored the system.