Manchester landscaper killed in home shooting as police probe deaths and fraud across Jamaica

A 57-year-old landscaper was shot and killed at his home in Trinity, near Porus, Manchester, on Thursday, in an attack that has stunned the community. Police and family members named the victim as Andrew Williams. Concerned relatives went to check on him around 11:00 a.m. and found his body in a bedroom, bearing multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body. Detectives worked at the scene as grieving relatives gathered nearby. Gerald Williams, the deceased man's brother, said Andrew was the first in the family to die in such a manner. Senior officers from the Manchester Police Division, including newly appointed commander Deputy Superintendent Odin Dennis, also attended the location.

In St. Mary, police are investigating the death of 46-year-old Raha Cesar Alen of Huddersfield. Reports indicate that around 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday he arrived at Port Maria Hospital with a stab wound to the chest and died while being treated in accident and emergency. Investigators are asking anyone with information on how he was injured to contact the nearest police station or the Port Maria CIB at 876-994-4222 or 876-333-9530.

Three people have been charged after a stabbing in Westmoreland. Hesford de Benny, 48, also known as Rebel; Jesse Jones, 27, also known as John John; and Sophia Robinson, 50, also known as Debbie, all of Big Bridge, face wounding with intent. Savannah-la-Mar police said that around 6:30 p.m. a man walking along the road was called into a bar by Jones and was then allegedly stabbed several times in the chest by Benny. Jones, Robinson, and another woman are said to have restrained the victim while the attack continued. The man escaped, collapsed outside, and was taken to hospital for treatment. Benny, Jones, and Robinson were later arrested and charged; court dates are pending.

Separately, 28-year-old loan officer Jason Douglas of Westchester Avenue, Portmore, St. Catherine, has been charged with simple larceny after a television and a government-issued laptop went missing in Kingston. Hunts Bay police said that on Wednesday, June 24, Douglas allegedly offered to repair a complainant's 32-inch television, and the man also left a black and grey HP laptop in his care. When the complainant returned around 7:00 p.m., the television, valued at $19,850, and the laptop, valued at $62,782.61, were gone. After the complainant called and was allegedly cut off, police investigated and arrested Douglas. His court date is being set.

Speaking on Thursday at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce meeting at Gulf View Hotel in Mandeville, Dennis urged residents to be cautious with strangers, citing a rise in lottery scammers in the parish. He said some offenders appear to treat Manchester as a refuge and warned that generous hospitality and large upfront rent payments can leave homeowners exposed to criminal associates. Dennis noted that Manchester was once regarded as relatively peaceful, with disputes often involving cutting tools among people who knew each other, but said gun violence has become more common. His remarks came the same day as Williams's killing; he said detectives are pursuing leads in that case.

In Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday, disbarred attorney Ano Miller Swell undertook to repay more than $37 million she is accused of misappropriating from a client in a failed property purchase. The matter was mentioned before Parish Judge Sanche Burrell. Attorney Matthew Hyatt, appearing with King's Counsel Bert Samuels for Miller Swell, said she intended to restore the complainant's financial position. When asked when repayment would occur, counsel said early August. The judge noted the delay in restitution and adjourned the case to November while extending bail. Miller Swell was arrested and charged last year with fraudulent conversion and possession of criminal property. Court documents link the allegations to a Red Hills Road, Forest Hills, Kingston 19 sale priced at $57.5 million between January and March 2024. The complainant paid $57,661,865 plus $1.15 million in legal fees on March 31, 2024, but only about $19 million reached the vendor's attorney, leaving a shortfall of roughly $37.39 million and no acceptable undertaking. The vendor cancelled the agreement. Last May the Jamaica Council of Legal Education found Miller Swell guilty of professional misconduct and struck her from the roll of attorneys, directing full restitution.