Portmore killing, Clarendon murder and POCA property charges dominate Jamaica roundup

A string of major developments across Jamaica on Wednesday ranged from deadly attacks in St Catherine and Clarendon to a home invasion in St Mary, a police crash in Manchester, new POCA charges and housing concerns in Vineyard Town.

In Portmore, St Catherine, police are probing the killing of 23-year-old chef Kenny Kenrick Schooler of Manley Lane, Naggo Head. Residents reportedly heard explosions sounding like gunshots from his premises about 3:30 a.m. and alerted the police. Officers said spent shells were found at the entrance, and a search of a one-room concrete structure on the property led to the discovery of Schooler with apparent gunshot wounds to the upper and lower body. He was taken to Spanish Town Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Portmore CIB said no motive has yet been established. In Clarendon, 64-year-old domestic helper Icynth Johnson of Union District was found partly nude, face down in the back yard of her home about 7:00 a.m., with what appeared to be stab wounds to the chest.

St Mary detectives are searching for two masked gunmen after a 59-year-old painter was shot in the hand during a home invasion in Boscobel, Islington, about 2:00 a.m. Police said one man kicked in the door of the one-bedroom house and opened fire, while a second approached as the victim tried to escape. He raised an alarm, both attackers ran off, and he was taken to hospital.

In Manchester, a constable attached to the Mandeville Police Station remained in hospital in stable condition with a broken leg and bruises after a 10:30 p.m. crash on the Hatfield main road while a team of four policemen was responding to a report of a prowl on a property. The other three policemen and three BMW occupants were treated and released. Separate figures from the Island Authority show 146 people were killed in 131 fatal crashes up to July 1, a 22 per cent fall in both deaths and fatal collisions, or 41 fewer fatalities than in the same period last year.

In St Catherine Parish Court, motorist Oscar Simpson was fined $100,000 or one month in prison after pleading guilty to using indecent language moments after he was fined on a traffic matter. He later said the experience had rattled him, telling a reporter after 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, "Me frighten as the next time it happen." The report also said scores of motorists appeared before the court on Wednesday on traffic charges and left with differing views about the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Donna-Marie Green-Mitchell, described as a returning resident contractor from Clarendon, was charged on June 24 with multiple money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The FID said she faces three counts involving possession, dealing and transactions with criminal property, along with counts of entering an arrangement for the acquisition of criminal property, acquisition of criminal property and conspiracy to acquire criminal property. Investigators alleged she held criminal property valued at $250 million and that three properties registered in her name in St Andrew, St Ann and Manchester moved from an original value of about $120 million to more than $250 million. The FID and the JCF's Constabulary Financial Unit further alleged the assets were beneficially owned by the late O'Neil McKenzie, described as her nephew, a Jamaican living in Brooklyn, New York, who was convicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to 188 months in federal prison, a sentence he was serving in October 2023. She was offered $3 million bail and is due in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on July 9.

On housing, St Andrew Southeastern MP Julian Robinson said Vineyard Town residents could be pushed out of home ownership as land values rise in parts of his constituency, which he said includes the Golden Triangle, the Seymour Lands and Vineyard Town. He argued that planned widening of Arthur Wint and Camp Road would increase density and attract developers, making affordable units more important for long-time residents. Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said the government is aware of the problem, noting that 20 per cent of NHT-sponsored units are now reserved for people 35 and under, up from 10 per cent, while many NHT borrowers access mortgages at 0 per cent and loan limits have been increased several times over the last decade. He said Jamaica's housing challenge is mainly tied to supply-side constraints and the scale of output. Both men were speaking at a ceremony for the Vineyard Town Housing Development, which began in 2017 and was terminated in 2021 because of crime and violence.