St. Elizabeth police detain 16 as Jamaica news roundup covers fatal accident, murder charges and NWC solar call

Police in St. Elizabeth detained 16 people for questioning on Monday and seized a prohibited 9mm Taurus pistol during an early-morning joint operation in Santa Cruz and nearby communities, including Leeds, Goshen, Seven Star Corner and Providence Acres.

Superintendent Coleridge Minto, head of the St. Elizabeth Police Division, said the operation began about 4 a.m., involved more than 100 officers from several formations, and ended without incident. He said targeted operations would continue across the parish, while police also keep up community interventions. Traffic officers issued more than 100 tickets, seized several vehicles and made arrests. Deputy Superintendent Everton Williams appealed to motorists to stop flashing lights to warn others about police checkpoints, saying the practice can help reckless drivers and people carrying weapons avoid enforcement.

In another St. Elizabeth matter, 83-year-old Michael “Mike” Williams of Comfort district died after falling from a water-tank platform at a relative’s home on Woodland Road in Junction on Sunday. Police said he had been doing maintenance when he apparently missed his step, fell onto a rock and suffered a forehead wound. He was later pronounced dead at hospital. The report also noted that six-year-old Robert Dawson recently died in Balaclava Heights, Mandeville, after being hit by lengths of steel being delivered by truck.

Police have charged 28-year-old farmer Delroy Taylor with murder after 61-year-old Radcliffe Alcock was fatally chopped during a dispute in Bethsalem last month. Investigators said Taylor returned with a machete after an earlier confrontation, and Alcock was attacked while trying to calm the situation. Taylor reportedly surrendered last Friday.

In St. Ann, 42-year-old Audley Duvall has been charged in connection with the shooting death of 31-year-old food vendor Jermaine Hedge of Silk Field, Moneague, in early May. The charges include murder and several firearm and ammunition offences.

The update also carried fraud-prevention advice from Detective Sergeant Stephanie Williams, who warned Jamaicans not to share banking passwords, PINs or one-time codes with callers or texters. She said the SIB investigated 363 electronic fraud cases in 2025 involving losses above J$61 million and more than US$390,000, while about J$30 million has been returned to fraud victims through the courts since the start of 2026.

Opposition spokesman on water Ian Hills used the recent islandwide power outage to renew calls for National Water Commission plants to be powered by solar energy, arguing that dependence on the Jamaica Public Service grid leaves communities exposed during disasters. The Troy Bridge, linking northwest Manchester and south Trelawny, has also reopened after collapsing in 2021 following a storm.