Montego Bay, St James - The police have hailed yesterday's gun slaying of reputed Stonecrusher Gang leader Rohan Gordon, alias 'Don', as a major achievement in their fight against crime in this resort city.

Gordon, 26, was shot dead after he and three of his cronies reportedly engaged the police in a fierce gun battle in which two policemen were injured, in the volatile Norwood community where the gang is based.

He had been on the run since last April when he and Michael Forbes, alias 'Lassie', who was gunned down by the police in St Mary last July, were named as the top honchos of the infamous gang that has been blamed for most of the record 178 murders committed in St James last year.

"It's a significant achievement in our effort to control crime in the Montego Bay area and moreso to get rid of the Stonecrusher Gang," said a jubilant Area One Crime Chief, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Clifford Blake. "I would just like to commend the police officers who demonstrated bravery and tact in that operation this morning," he added.

Gordon had remained high on the police radar following Lassie's death last July, and in December was named by Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas as among the four most wanted men St James on whose heads the police placed a $1-million bounty.

ACP Blake said yesterday's operation in the community had no connection to the $1-million reward. However, the police, he said, had received numerous calls in the past with specific reference to the reward. "From the information we have, it was a coincidental contact between them (Gordon and his cronies) and the police. It happened during a normal, routine patrol," said Blake.

Police said they also recovered a Taurus 9mm pistol, serial #96099, loaded with several 9-mm cartridges from Gordon yesterday. The alleged shoot-out, according to St James police liaison officer Corporal Peter Salkey, took place at about 12:35 pm along Hummingbird Drive in Paradise, Norwood.

Police say that they were on motorised patrol in that area of the community when they noticed a beige Toyota Corolla motorcar with four men aboard. They signalled the car to stop and when it did, all four men alighted and fired at the police, damaging a service vehicle and injuring the two policemen, the cops said.

After the firefight ended, Gordon was found and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Stonecrusher Gang came to prominence last year when the police named them, along with the Tight Pants Gang that operates in Albion and Gully; the One Order Gang from Flankers; and the Killer Bees Gang of Granville as the chief perpetrators in a spate of murders across St James.

By far the most ruthless of the gangs, the Stonecrusher was said to be responsible for a trail of double and triple murders, including the killings of entire families in Norwood. This prompted an exodus from the community and forced the police hierarchy to establish an arm of the successful Operation Kingfish in the parish last December.

The police also killed other Stonecrusher gang members Garfield Sawyers and a man identified only as 'Spiffy' last April and May respectively.

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