WESTERN BUREAU — Mark Anthony Lynch, 34, of West End, Negril, was found dead in his Toyota motor car in the Belmont area of Westmoreland yesterday.

According to the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), liaison officer for the parish, Sergeant Alva Douglas, Lynch’s body was found at about 2:30 pm slumped over the steering wheel of the motor vehicle, with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the right ear.

The police said they were alerted to the car after receiving information that the vehicle was seen in the Blue Hole area of Belmont with what appeared to be a dead man inside.

The police said when they arrived on the scene, the car was seen with its engine still in motion, the doors locked, the air conditioning unit turned on and Lynch’s body motionless in the driver’s seat.

Lynch’s murder brings to two, the number committed in the parish since the start of this year.

Last year the parish recorded 41 murders in what the police said was the highest since 1980.

Although no motive has been established for Lynch’s murder, the police attributed last year’s murder toll in the parish to drugs, gang warfare and domestic violence.

Last October, the parish figured prominently in the news after a major drug bust by the police in the Belmont area.

Since that time, residents have expressed fear that the area is being targeted by those connected to the drug trade. The police have complained, however, that the residents have been reluctant to provide them with the information they need to make arrests.