COMMISSIONER of Police, Owen Ellington, has hailed the conviction and sentencing of Klansman leader Tesha Miller as a victory for law and order against criminality in St Catherine where the gang is headquartered.

Miller was sentenced this afternoon in the High Court Division of the Gun Court to seven years imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm and 15 years for robbery with aggravation. The sentences are to run concurrently meaning that Miller will serve a maximum of 15 years.

“The conviction and sentencing of Tesha Miller are major blows to organised criminal gangs operating in the country especially in St Catherine. It also represents a significant victory for the Security Forces who are relentless pursuing these gangs,” said Ellington.

The commissioner said that the police investigation demonstrated what can be achieved through diligence and professionalism.

“I want to offer my gratitude and thanks to the men and women of the St Catherine North Division and the other formations who worked diligently, thoroughly and with great perseverance in preparing a case file on Miller which met the highest professional standards and which ultimately led to the convictions today of this noted gang leader,” he said.

“This good work and professionalism by members was achieved under great stress because of the constant threats on their lives by the criminals. I am exceptionally pleased with their courage and fortitude. But while I am pleased with today’s outcome, there is still much to be done in dismantling these criminal gangs. The work continues.”

Miller was arrested in December last year in connection with a stolen motor vehicle. his arrest sparked a demonstration by residents in the hotbed community of De La Vega City in Spanish Town, who claimed the cops were unfairly targeting him.

He was also detained in October, when he was interrogated by Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) detectives about crimes committed in the old capital.

Since his arrest in December the Klansman gang has been split by bloody infighting for the leadership of the criminal network which saw over a dozen persons being killed in areas known to be the stomping ground of the gang.

In September last year Miller denied entry by immigration authorities in the Bahamas. He was detained by the Bahamas immigration authorities overnight and sent back to Jamaica the following day.

In June 2010, Miller, also called ‘Rat’, was acquitted of the murder of John Haughton in Jamaica’s Home Circuit Court because of insufficient evidence.

Haughton was shot and killed on St John’s Road in Spanish Town in April 2004.

Months before, Miller was also set free of the triple murders of Oraine Jackson, Jeffery Johnson and Nicole Allen in Braeton, St Catherine in January 2005. He had absconded bail on the murder charges and fled to the United States in that same year.

He was held by the US authorities in October 2006 and charged with re-entering that country illegally. He had been previously deported from that country.

A .45 pistol, an SKS assault rifle, one pound of marijuana and a large scale – which the US agents said was commonly used to distribute narcotics – were allegedly found in an apartment Miller occupied in Tampa, Florida.