Jamaica police probe St Elizabeth double fatal shooting, child death and Ebola quarantine concerns

Police investigations are under way across several parishes after a deadly weekend that included a double fatal shooting at an auto mart in St Elizabeth, the death of a three-year-old girl in St James, a fatal stabbing in Hanover, and a motorcycle crash that killed a constable in St Catherine.

In Longwood, near Santa Cruz, detectives are awaiting ballistic results after 64-year-old car dealer Melvin Blight and 34-year-old Romel Johnson, also called Koti or Koman, were found dead at an auto mart on Sunday. Police believe Johnson entered the compound sometime after 3:00 a.m. intending to strip vehicles for parts. Investigators found evidence of dismantling at the scene. They suspect Blight, a licensed firearm holder, confronted him before both men were shot. Blight’s wife went to the premises after failing to reach him by phone and found his body. Police later followed a blood trail over a 10-foot wall, where Johnson was found holding the businessman’s firearm.

In St James, police are examining the death of Jonesty Stevens, a three-year-old from Ocean View Street in Paradise, Hanover. Reports say her 20-year-old mother took her to Cornwall Regional Hospital about 9:19 p.m. with bruising and swelling to the forehead. Medical staff pronounced her dead on arrival.

Hanover police have also detained a Jamaican-born Florida resident after his 33-year-old wife was fatally stabbed at an Airbnb in Esher late Sunday. The couple had been vacationing in Jamaica with their two-month-old baby. Residents reportedly contacted police after seeing the 36-year-old man walking with the infant about 2:00 a.m. Monday.

Constable Shanky Gordon of the St Catherine North operations team died after a motorcycle crash about 2:00 a.m. Monday. Police reports say he was riding in Yallahs, St Catherine, and was later pronounced dead at Linstead Hospital at 2:38 a.m. Senior Superintendent Ashton Nicholson described him as hardworking, energetic and well liked.

In Manchester, Superintendent Kerry Duncan said murders are being fuelled largely by interpersonal disputes and lottery scamming conflicts. The parish recorded 14 homicides between January 1 and May 23, up from eight for the same period in 2025, while shootings rose 40 per cent to 14 incidents. Duncan said robbery, break-ins and rape declined, and police have intensified operations against lottery scammers.

Separately, Dean Dawson, who said he operates private taxi services and other jobs to support his family, is to learn his fate on June 9 in the St Catherine Parish Court on a charge of harbouring fugitive Glendon “Bull” Amos. Dawson denied knowing Amos was wanted when police intercepted a vehicle on January 29, 2025.

Health concerns were also raised after Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie said eight passengers with travel histories linked to Ebola-affected countries had been counselled and ordered to self-quarantine. Dr Winston Dawes urged the Ministry of Health and Wellness to use supervised quarantine sites, warning that home isolation could expose households if symptoms later develop.