Man charged in Portmore taxi killing as Troy protests Shani Coke murder

Police have charged a 24-year-old man in the fatal shooting of Portmore taxi operator Andre Thomas, while residents of Troy, Trelawny, blocked roads Thursday seeking justice after the killing of 10-year-old Shani Coke.

The accused, Taiwin Hines, also known as Lasco, faces murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorised possession of ammunition, and using a firearm to commit a felony. A court date is being finalised. Police say about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thomas was standing with others at a bus bay along Dawkins Drive near the Portmore Mall when a gunman approached and shot him in the head. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. The probe led to Hines’s arrest.

In Troy, residents mounted a roadblock Thursday morning demanding the release of a man arrested over a fatal mob attack that followed the discovery of Coke’s body. The child’s partially nude body, throat slashed, was found in bushes on Tuesday. Police said a father and son were attacked by a mob after the find, and a man was later held in connection with that assault. Residents insist he is innocent and also protested Coke’s death, chanting "We want justice."

A relative said Coke, a Troy Primary School pupil on summer break, had been sent to the shop by her grandmother and never returned. "Someone stop her on the street and disturb her somehow until they slash her throat," the relative said, remembering her as loving, academically strong, and known throughout the community. Relatives said they found her that night.

Trelawny Police Division Superintendent Campbell told Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake he was devastated by the killing. The division now records seven murders this year — three interpersonal, two not yet determined, and two criminal non-gang, including Coke’s death. Firearm seizures stand at 11 against five at the same point last year, with 687 arrests, 22,697 tickets issued, and four wanted men captured.

Elsewhere, INDECOM and Portmore police in St Catherine are investigating the reported accidental shooting of a policewoman at her Greater Portmore home. About 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, her licensed 9mm pistol reportedly fell from her bed; as she tried to catch it, her finger entered the trigger guard and the gun discharged, injuring her index finger. She received medical attention and the weapon was seized.

In St Mary, 32-year-old taxi operator Akim Marshall of Cromwell, Highgate, died in a crash about 10:20 p.m. Wednesday while travelling along the Highgate Bypass. Police are investigating.

Caribbean Maritime University student Jayen Simpson was identified Wednesday as the man whose body washed ashore at Old Wharf in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, on Tuesday. Visiting relatives, he got into difficulty swimming Monday in a strong undertow; rescue efforts failed.

In the Greens community of Norwood, St James, police are probing a suspected murder and attempted suicide after a woman died from chop wounds and a man ingested what appeared to be a poisonous substance following an altercation about 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. The woman’s name has not been released and the man’s condition was not confirmed. Unconfirmed reports say the couple had been in divorce proceedings.

In Kingston 16, Denham Town Criminal Investigations Branch detectives searched an abandoned premises on Gem Road about 12:30 p.m. Monday and found a black 9mm pistol with a magazine holding three cartridges hidden under a recycling bag. A man is in custody; his identity has been withheld.