Cops seize car said linked to drive-by shootings

The Spanish Town police have seized a car which they say was involved in a drive-by shooting that left one person dead and another injured in New Nursery District, Spanish Town.

Cops are also carrying out investigations to determine if the car was also involved in the drive-by killing of six other people in the old capital over the last five days.

The car was seized on Monday after an 8:30 pm attack in which Andrew Western, 30, was fatally shot while his 26 year-old female companion was treated at hospital for injuries she received.

The drive-by shootings began in Spanish Town last Friday when six men were killed and four others injured.

Yesterday, police said they had no evidence to link the spate of shootings with the white car but they were nevertheless conducting a thorough investigation.

Suspect held in Port Maria robberies

A man suspected of committing two robberies in St Mary over the past two weeks has been held by the Port Maria police and is scheduled to face identification parades later this week.

According to St Mary’s Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) officer, Angella McTaggart, shortly before 7:00 pm Friday, an armed man stole a $250,000 lodgement from a worker employed to Port Maria Enterprise when she went to make a lodgement at the bank.

The robbery was the second in two weeks in the parish. The first involved the robbery of a bread delivery man, who was reportedly held up shortly before 1:00 pm in Bailey’s Vale. He was robbed of $30,000 by a masked gunman.

The suspect, who is in custody, was held over the weekend and, based on information gathered by the police, it is suspected that both robberies were committed by the same person.

Kingston mayor wines and dines less fortunate

By Sunday, mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie, will have wined and dined a little over 1, 000 needy Corporate Area residents, with the help of businesses and private citizens who contributed more than $1.3 million to his Christmas dinner fund this year.

The fund is an annual event of the Mayor’s office to provide Christmas cheer for needy people.

McKenzie said Monday that he was “very happy” with the support, especially from the business sector, and noted that the contributions would allow him to extend cheer to more people and institutions this festive season.

He was speaking at the first of four Christmas dinners being staged by his office. A large number of mainly golden agers attended this dinner at the Donald Quarrie High School in Harbour View. The mayor presented them with gifts and treated them to an assortment of meats, cakes and rice and peas.

Customs ready for Christmas rush

The Customs Department says it will be working “assiduously” to ensure the release of cargo to members of the public before Christmas.

“We will be working extra hours, and we will be working on Saturdays and at nights,” deputy commissioner of operations Hector Jones told JIS News.

He pointed out that Customs had prepared itself for the typical Christmas cargo and passenger volumes from as early as late November.

“Members of staff are allocated according to needs and most of the areas are fully manned,” he said.