Man held with slain cop’s gun charged
WESTERN BUREAU – The Westmoreland police yesterday arrested a man who was allegedly found in possession of a firearm that was assigned to a policeman who was slain more than two years ago.
The 26 year-old man, the police said, resides in Negril. But the police said his name could not be released as he was expected to face an identification parade for a series of major crimes committed in western Jamaica.
The 9mm pistol is believed to be that of Detective Inspector Rupert Gardener who was shot and killed while he was conducting business at a cambio in Montego Bay, St James.
According to the police, officers were on patrol in the Whitehall area of Negril at about 4:00 am yesterday when the man was seen “acting in a suspicious manner”. The man, they said, was searched and the 9mm pistol found on him. It was loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition. He was subsequently arrested and charged.
At about 2:30 pm on June 10, 2002, Gardener, 39, went to the cambio at the West Gate Plaza in Montego Bay to transact business when he was accosted by a gunman. A struggle ensued between the two and the police inspector was shot in the head. He died later at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
