St Catherine businessman granted $1 million bail in alleged motor vehicle fraud

A St Catherine businessman accused of collecting millions of dollars from customers for motor vehicles that were never delivered was granted $1 million bail with a surety when he appeared in parish court on Friday.

Akim Thomas is charged with three counts of fraudulent conversion and non-delivery of service. It is alleged that he collected approximately $60 million from three complainants as payment toward vehicles. Acting Senior Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson Gale granted bail after a successful application by his attorney, Sheldon Campbell, who told the court that Thomas was willing to make restitution to the complainants. The judge said bail was approved solely to facilitate restitution before the next court date on September 29. Thomas must report to Spanish Town Police Station, surrender his travel documents, be fingerprinted, and comply with a stop order. Police allege that in March he took money from the complainants with promises to supply vehicles by agreed dates that were not met, prompting them to report the matter. He was arrested following an investigation and subsequently charged.

Four men were detained and a homemade firearm seized during a police operation in Stony Hill, St Andrew, on Thursday. Officers said a snap raid was carried out in the vicinity of Brooks 11 Road, after which the weapon was recovered and the men held. Their identities have not been released. Police said the men remain under questioning as investigators seek to determine ownership of the firearm and whether charges will be laid. The Stone Hill Criminal Investigations Branch is probing the incident.

Police are also seeking public help to locate Fabian Doppson, also known as "Tweety Bird", who is wanted for the murder of Javid Liscom and the shooting and wounding of Liscom's father during an incident along Bordon Hill Road on February 23, 2025. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Stony Hill Police, Crime Stop at 311, or the nearest police station.

The appeal comes as the St Andrew North Police Division continues to record reductions in major crimes. Up to June 13, the division reported a 71 per cent decline in murders and an 83 per cent reduction in shootings compared with the corresponding period last year.

In Spanish Town, members of the St Catherine North Proactive Investigation Unit seized 24 rounds of ammunition on Thursday during an operation in the Waterloo community. Police said that about 12:45 p.m., officers searched seven premises, including several dwelling houses, before proceeding to a section of the Rio bank in the area, where a small bottle labeled oil was retrieved. Further checks allegedly revealed 24 rounds of ammunition concealed inside. No arrest was made.

At the Supreme Court, a government ballistic expert was cross-examined on Thursday over three firearms examined in connection with the January 12, 2013, Acadia Drive triple fatal shooting in St Andrew and a later addendum report on test results. Under questioning by defence attorney Hugh Wildman, the superintendent of police, formerly attached to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, was asked how the addendum report arose and what information accompanied the firearms submitted for analysis. He said the addendum involved three firearms later tested against spent casings previously analyzed in his original report. Asked whether any of the casings could be linked to the firearms, he replied, "No, sir, no match." He said the firearms were submitted by a representative of the Bureau of Special Investigations with information that spent casings in the original report had not been linked to firearms previously submitted and that the three weapons may have been a match. He said he was not told where the firearms came from, stating that such detail is not normally provided to the lab. Prosecutor Kathy Pike objected to some defence questions as irrelevant, while Wildman argued the addendum contained information outside the case that was highly prejudicial. The witness also agreed under further questioning that recovery of spent casings depends on how accurately officers retrieve items, and that gunshot residue detection depends in part on how long after an incident a test is conducted.

The trial continued on Friday with further cross-examination on the chain of custody for exhibits. Sergeant Samroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and Constables Randy Rose, Andrew Smith, and Sheldon Richards are on trial for the murders of Ucliff Dyer, Matthew Lee, and Demar Allen, who were fatally shot along Acadia Drive. The court has heard that the policemen reported being involved in a shootout after signalling a blue Mitsubishi Outlander to stop at a vehicle checkpoint. According to the officers, the occupants exited the vehicle and opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire. Two illegal firearms, an Argos pistol and a submachine gun, were reportedly recovered following the incident.