Petersfield residents urge police crack down on drug dens
Petersfield, Westmoreland – Wednesday night’s murder of 27 year-old Devon Rodney has re-ignited calls, from residents of this Westmoreland community, for the police to clamp down on two locations where drugs are allegedly sold on a regular basis.
According to police reports, at about 10:30 pm Wednesday, community members who were near a clump of bushes heard the sounds of someone being beaten. At daybreak, Rodney’s body was found with several large lacerations that appeared to be machete wounds. There were wounds to his head, the side of his face, his neck, his lower left leg and both arms.
Rodney, according to his neighbours, had a drug problem and they have theorised that this may be linked to his death.
The drug dens and those who supply the illegal substance to addicts, they argued, contributed to his death and others before. The police, residents said, need to crack down on the drug dealers.
However the Negril police, who say they have received reports that drugs are being sold from these two locations, contend that they have tried to deal with the problem.
According to the lawmen, they have made several attempts to raid the two locations, but have not been able to confiscate any contraband as it is stored elsewhere.
They have appealed to community members, who they believe know when the drug shipments come into the area, to cooperate with them and help nab the drug dealers and confiscate their supply.
Among those calling for the police to act was Gloria Robinson, who said she buried her brother last Sunday. He was also a drug abuser, she said.
Asquit “Tonic” Jackson, a 37 year-old unemployed Petersfield resident, was killed at about 11:00 pm on February 29 while attempting to break into a shop along the Llandilo main road in Savanna-la-Mar.
“The police should arrest those at the coke yard and mash up the coke ring,” his angry sister said.
The addicts, she contended, engage in petty theft and turn over the items to the drug dealers as payment for the drugs. Whenever she speaks out on the issue, she said, her life is threatened.
