STEER TOWN, St Ann – A Grenadian national, Lashley Nathan Davis, who goes by the names “Michael Rodney” and “Kelly”, has been arrested by the St Ann police in connection with the shooting of a taxi operator in the district Wednesday afternoon.

Davis, who was deported to Grenada from the United States 10 years ago, came to Jamaica in 1996 and is currently a resident of Steer Town in St Ann.

The taxi operator, Donovan DaCosta, 41, also of Steer Town, has been admitted to hospital in a stable condition.

The St Ann police reported that DaCosta was shot after he and a bailiff from Mack D’s Auto had gone in search of a Toyota Corolla motor car for which he had stood surety, but which was in arrears for payments.

The police said that at about 2:45 Wednesday afternoon, DaCosta, accompanied by the bailiff, was at the Bailey bridge in Steer Town in search of the motor vehicle when the car for which he stood surety was allegedly seen driving towards an area known as Dam Head. DaCosta and the bailiff, the police said, gave chase in their respective motor cars.

The driver of the Corolla reportedly stopped in the middle of the road and DaCosta and the bailiff then stopped behind. But as DaCosta alighted from his car and approached the vehicle one of the occupants opened fire, hitting him in the right side and left elbow, according to the police. The car then sped away.

The bailiff took DaCosta to the St Ann’s Bay Hospital where he was admitted.

Davis, the police reported Thursday, was found tied up in bushes in Guy’s Hill, St Catherine, just hours after the shooting Wednesday, in what the cops said was a ploy to thwart police investigations into the shooting.

“He was found by security guards in a cane field. and taken by the police to Linstead where he was placed in custody,” Deputy Superintendent Wilford Gayle told the Observer.

The police theorise that after the shooting, Davis and his crony allegedly staged a mock abduction, claiming later that they were held up by gunmen.

Davis was taken to the St Ann’s Bay Police Station on Thursday, where, after interrogation, he was charged with the shooting of DaCosta.

It was then that the police realised that he was a Grenadian national.

Police said he was deported from the United States to Grenada in 1994 and came to Jamaica in 1996, where he has been living illegally. He first lived in Portland before moving to Steer Town.

Officers could not say on what grounds he was deported from the United States. But they said that in 1998 he applied to the United States Embassy in Kingston for a US visa, in the name Michael Rodney, but was denied.

Davis, the police said, was found in possession of a Jamaican passport and NIS card in the name of Michael Rodney. He told the police that he also had an enumeration card but this could not be substantiated.

The owner of the Corolla motor car is said to be residing in the United States but left the car in the care of Davis.

Davis, using the name Michael Rodney, worked at two resorts in St Ann as a pool attendant and bar tender, since taking up residency in Steer Town.