Man Fatally Shot After Stolen-Vehicle Chase in West Kingston

A man was fatally shot during an alleged confrontation with police in West Kingston on Sunday afternoon after officers pursued a motor vehicle reported stolen several weeks earlier, police say.

At about 3:00 p.m., a police team responded to a sighting of the vehicle along Spanish Road and signalled the driver to stop. The driver sped away, prompting a chase through sections of Kingston. The pursuit ended on Remandered Place in West Kingston, where the occupants abandoned the car. Police allege the men then opened fire on officers, who returned fire. A man was found with gunshot wounds in a nearby gully and taken to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not been released. The Independent Commission of Investigations has been notified, and the circumstances remain under investigation.

In St. Andrew, two men were arrested after a Glock 21 .45-calibre pistol and a magazine containing six .45-calibre cartridges were seized during a joint police-military operation at Third Street and Third Avenue in Greenwich Town on Saturday, July 25. Hunts Bay Police said that at about 10:45 p.m. a vehicle was signalled to stop; the driver complied, both occupants were searched, and the firearm and ammunition were found on one of the men. Their identities have not been released.

Taxi operator Odian Kinglock, 25, of Lacy District, Stony Hill, St. Andrew, has been charged with robbery with aggravation, possession of a prohibited weapon, and assault at common law arising from an incident at a bar on Sunday, July 19. Police say that about 11:30 p.m., Kinglock and masked accomplices confronted patrons, pointed a firearm at them, robbed them, and fled on foot. He was arrested on July 22 and charged on July 24 after a question-and-answer session with his attorney present. A court date is being finalised.

In Hanover, construction worker Andre Hmans, 21, has been charged with the rape of a young girl. Police report that about 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, he entered a dwelling, held the child in a room, and sexually assaulted her. A family member allegedly caught him in the act and raised an alarm; he fled before a report was filed. On Tuesday, July 21, he was taken into custody, positively identified on an identification parade, and charged. He is due before the Lucea Parish Court on Monday, July 27.

Michael Williams, 32, of Spanish Town, St. Catherine, was on Friday granted $500,000 bail in the parish court on a charge of unlawful possession of property after police on July 17 stopped a motor car in Spanish Town and found its chassis number had been tampered with. Attorney Law Hamilton said his client had nothing to hide and did not know anything illegal had been done to the vehicle. Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Ala ordered him to report to the Buck Walker police three times a week. The matter returns on October 6.

Separately, the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s 2025 Economic and Social Survey Jamaica puts the recidivism rate above 27 per cent, with 153 inmates readmitted in the review period — 149 of them male. Twenty-nine prisoners were on a fourth admission and 19 on a third; 78 were readmitted once and 26 twice, while one inmate’s recurrence level was unknown. The PIOJ said 531 inmates took part in educational programmes and 541 in vocational training.