Retired US soldier sentenced in Portland murder as government rejects St Mary migrant housing claims

Two people died early Saturday when a Toyota Noah struck a concrete retaining wall on the William C leg of the PJ Partya Highway and caught fire. Police said the crash happened around 3:45 a.m. near St. Tulles. The eastbound vehicle hit the left roadside wall while navigating a corner, was engulfed in flames, and the driver and front-seat passenger were burned beyond recognition. Their remains were later removed to the morgue.

In St Thomas, members of the Specialized Operations Unit seized a Smith and Wesson .45 pistol, ammunition, and a magazine during an operation in Bath District. One man was arrested in connection with the seizure, and investigations are continuing.

Police in St Ann are stepping up efforts to find Conra Hilton, also known as Rusta, who is named as a person of interest in the killing of 34-year-old Jessica Howell, known as Nooks. Howell, a vendor from Capture Land, Mammi Bay, was killed after the man went to check on her at her room. Zone One Commander Deputy Superintendent David Blake said officers are closing in on the suspect and pledged he would be caught soon.

In Portland, retired United States soldier Emil Tracy, 48, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to the murder of 43-year-old Mason Craig Senior and illegal possession of a firearm. Portland Circuit Court imposed 22 years for murder and eight years for the gun offence, to run concurrently. On October 9, 2022, Senior was at his Heartill District home when a vehicle pulled up and the occupant called out to him. He was shot when he went outside to respond, and the car sped off. The investigation led police to Tracy, who was intimately involved with Senior's wife.

The Ministry of National Security has dismissed as false and misleading claims that third-country nationals are to be housed in St Mary. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Dr Chang was responding to an assertion aired on Television Jamaica's prime-time news on June 25 suggesting that teens would be accommodated in the parish. Chang said the Government has not approved the transfer of third-country nationals to any location in Jamaica, that none are in the country under the arrangement at present, and that any housing would be the responsibility of the International Organization for Migration rather than Government-approved facilities in St Mary. No transfers will take place until necessary operational procedures are finalised. The ministry said a video circulating online misrepresents the Government's stated position, urged the public to verify information through official sources, and said it would continue providing timely updates.

In the Senate on Friday, Opposition Senator Lambert Brown criticised the Government's move to sign a third-country national arrangement with the United States allowing people transferred from America to transit through Jamaica on route to their final destination. Brown questioned why Jamaica would accept individuals he described during heated debate as dangerous offenders, stating that the People's National Party opposed bringing such persons to the country. The exchange saw repeated clashes over whether the opposition was formally accusing the Jamaica Labour Party administration of bowing to United States Secretary of State Rubio by facilitating the transit of criminals and sex offenders. Brown restated that, in bringing third-country nationals through Jamaica, the administration was adopting a path that would dump undesirables on the country, a stance he said reflected the PNP's position.