Jamaica roundup spans fatal St Elizabeth shooting, Kingston arrests, and deaths in Mandeville and Yallahs

Police in St Elizabeth shot and killed Stuart Ferguson, also known as Dwayne Anthony, during a targeted operation in Thornton on Friday night. Officers who went to the community around 9:30 p.m. with a warrant obtained under the Firearms Act said Ferguson was at the front of a house, ran inside, and shut the door. After he allegedly refused to open it, the door was forced open. Police reported that he then came out of a bathroom with a gun in his hand, aimed at the team, and ignored orders to drop the weapon. Fearing for their lives, one officer fired three shots. Ferguson was later pronounced dead at Black River Hospital. A 9-mm pistol with no visible serial number and a magazine holding five cartridges were reportedly recovered.

In Kingston, 42-year-old Dean Stewart of Mona Commons was taken into custody on Wednesday after he was reportedly seen with a firearm while shopping in his wheelchair inside Shoppers Fair on Hope Road around 12:30 p.m. Police said a semi-automatic pistol with a magazine containing five rounds was found between his legs. He was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of unauthorised ammunition and taken to the Half Way Tree Police Station. Investigators said Stewart is well known in the area and is often seen soliciting money from members of the public.

Area Four police captured Michael Wright, also called Miguel, on Friday during an early-morning operation at a house on Delano Avenue in Kingston 11. Wright, who had been featured in the force's Wanted Wednesdays campaign, faces charges of assault at common law and possession of a prohibited weapon. He was found in the company of a woman.

In Mandeville, an unidentified dreadlocked man was found dead on his back under a pear tree on Jackson Drive on Saturday morning. Police believe he fell to his death overnight while picking pears on another person's property. Several cocoa bags filled with pears and a broken tree branch were seen near the body. He was wearing grey sweatpants, a brown sweater, and a red undershirt. Detectives have classified the incident as death by misadventure.

Chad Campbell, a 25-year-old labourer of Yallahs, St Catherine, was charged with murder on Friday in the fatal stabbing of his 23-year-old nephew Lamar Mullins, also of Yallahs. The charge stems from an incident about 8:00 p.m. on June 17 at Campbell's home, where a dispute broke out after Mullins asked that the television volume be turned down during a World Cup football match. A physical altercation followed, and Campbell allegedly used a knife to wound Mullins in the chest. Mullins was taken to Linstead Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Campbell was arrested that night.

Portland Eastern Member of Parliament Ann-Marie Bucknor has urged police to move quickly in their investigation into the death of 12-year-old Crystal McLean, a Port Antonio High School student reported missing on June 12. A high alert was issued on June 15 after efforts to locate her failed. Her decomposed body was found shortly after midday on Wednesday in the Grange Hill area, partially submerged in water. A bag containing clothing and school books was found nearby. Police are awaiting post-mortem results. Bucknor said, "I want to assure the McLean family that I stand ready to assist with funeral arrangements in this difficult period," adding that "our children must be protected."

Opposition Leader Mark Golding said none of the People's National Party's MPs or senators told him they are under Integrity Commission investigation for illicit enrichment, after he put the question to each of them. He noted that commission reports had listed six, then eight, persons under such investigation, but said follow-up questions about declarations are separate from formal enrichment probes.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Jamaica must position itself to attract skilled workers and not only export talent, arguing that countries now compete for people much as they do for tourism and investment. He cited safety, governance, connectivity, and opportunity as shared factors in those choices, pointing to Singapore, Dubai, and Switzerland as examples of destinations that understood the need to become places of choice.