WESTERN BUREAU — Five men who police suspect to be members of a gang that has staged a string of daring armed robberies in St James since late last year, were shot dead yesterday morning in what the cops and residents of Adelphi say was a fierce gun battle.

At press time, two of the men were still unidentified. The other three are 32 year-old Owen “Goiter” Kerr, whose address has not yet been determined; 25 year-old Christopher “Chris” Mitchell of North Gully in Montego Bay; and 23 year-old Curtis Dawson of Rose Heights, also in Montego Bay.

Up to late yesterday, the police were still trying to determine if any of the men had police records. None of them, though, were on the parish’s ‘most wanted’ list, but the cops say they believe one of the men may have been the gang’s ringleader.

Three firearms were reportedly taken from the dead men — an Intro Tech 9mm with five rounds, one Taurus 9mm pistol with two 9mm cartridges and a .45 Askell pistol with two cartridges.

The men were shot along a narrow stretch of the Sign Orange main road in Adelphi, St James, at about 10:45 am.

According to Constabulary Communication Network officer for St James, Constable Peter Salkey, a police party consisting of men from the Area One CIB, Flying Squad and Special Operations Unit, travelling in three unmarked cars, signalled the men to stop but the order was ignored. The men were boxed in by the police on one side and a gully on the other.

Said Salkey: “The men opened fire at the police. The police had to take cover and return the fire. During an ensuing gun battle all five men were shot and killed.”

For much of the day, a large crowd of curious onlookers converged on Madden’s Funeral Home on Union Street, Montego Bay where the men were taken after being pronounced dead at the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Inside, friends and family members grieved.

“Me caan believe say Chris gone, and me sleep inna him bed last night,” an elderly woman sobbed as she clung to another woman for support.

The two reclined in a sorrowful embrace on a sofa as other friends and relatives looked on with red, tear-filled eyes.

But in small groups outside the funeral home, and at Adelphi, the reaction was different. According to a senior citizen, who said he watched the bullets fly from his balcony above the Sign Orange main road, the men have been plaguing the area for months, and the police deserve a medal.

Residents told the Observer that the men’s now familiar car was seen in the area, a resident noted the licence plate number and called the police who were on patrol nearby.

“A dem (the men) first do the shooting after the police dem. Dem start tear shot afta dem. Two police haffi lie dung inna de grass, else dem woulda get kill,” the senior citizen told the Observer near the scene.

As he spoke, the pungent smell of the blood that covered the roadway hung heavily in the air.

“Man, me hear gunshot ’till me ears come in like a Christmas. Terrible man, but all me know, the police dem fi get a medal. Dem good man, dem good,” he said as he shook his head in amazement.

Other residents said a group of men travelling in a white Toyota Corolla station wagon have been staging a spate of robberies in Adelphi and surrounding areas since last December.

One man, who gave his name only as Buddy, said that they robbed his home two weeks ago and stole about $100,000 in cash and jewellery. Another man said he narrowly escaped death after the men, who tried to hijack his vehicle, fired shots at him in the vicinity of the Sudbury All-Age School.

The residents also said that the men were involved in robberies in other nearby communities, including Dumfries and Content.

The police have asked robbery victims to come to the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay to identify the car and the men. Yesterday afternoon, the cops were still trying to determine if the white Toyota Corolla station wagon, in which the men were travelling, had been stolen. It was parked in the rear of the police station, its interior bloodied and its windscreen riddled with bullet holes.

A grey police car that was involved in the incident was not in much better shape. Its windscreen and the centre of the rear seat sported several bullet holes, while the rear windscreen was totally shattered.

Two other white Toyota Corollas, in which the lawmen had been driving at the time of the incident, had one bullet hole each.

Constable Salkey appealed to persons with information on the persons involved in the spate of robberies in the parish to come forward, and expressed sorrow at the death of the five men.

“We are not happy when these things happen,” he said. “However, if the police are on duty and they have to (go) to the last resort, well, things like these will happen. We’re asking persons who may have information on any of these criminal activities to come forward and give information to the police. It’s very important that we get this information so we can take these persons into custody and take them to the courts in order for them not to be killed this way. We are really sorry about what happened but we have to do these things sometimes.”

Yesterday’s incident brought to five, the number of firearms recovered in St James and to seven, the number of men killed by cops since the start of the year. The two other men were killed during an alleged shoot-out in the Fairfield area earlier this month.