REPUTED Klansman leader Navardo Hodges, who police suspect was behind a series of beheadings in St Catherine and surrounding areas, yesterday met a similar demise in volatile Spanish Town, known to be his stomping ground for several years.

The Police High Command reported that the severed head of a man believed to be that of the gang member was found with a gunshot wound to the forehead on the compound a shopping centre on Burke Road, in the centre of the old capital, Spanish Town, by police from the St Catherine North Division.

“At about 4:00 am yesterday, the head of a man fitting the description of Hodges was found. Further investigation led to the discovery of a headless body near to Okra Lane near to 2 Port Henderson Road,” said Senior Superintendent Anthony Castelle.

The headless and battered body of the man also had gunshot wounds and the arms were outstretched. It is suspected that Hodges was executed in an area close by, then beheaded and his body later dragged to that spot, which is close to the house of a relative of incarcerated Klansman boss, Tesha Miller.

Investigators theorise that Hodges had shot dead the sister of Miller during an upsurge of violence in the town two weeks ago.

Hodges, a top-tier member of the Klansman gang, was wanted by the police from both the St Catherine North and South Police Division for a series of serious crimes, including murder.

Police sources yesterday said that they suspect that the feared gang leader met his demise following a major fallout in the gang. Hodges, sources say, had ambitions of taking over leadership of the gang, but his efforts were resisted by factions loyal to Miller.

Police have since linked the gang member, who was known to frequent the Hopeful Village, Lakes Pen, March Pen Road, De la Vega City and Quarry Hill areas of Spanish Town, to at least a dozen more killings in and around St Catherine.

Homicide detectives believe that he was behind the gruesome July beheadings of church minister Charmaine Rattary and her daughter Joeith Lynch,19, in the community of Lauriston, a community located on the outskirts of Spanish Town.

The two women were hacked to death in a pre-dawn attack by a group of men armed with guns and machetes.

The murders took place close to where an alleged member of the notorious Klansman gang, Scott Thomas, 18, was also beheaded.

Yesterday, detectives said that Hodges, who was on the run for several months, was able to elude the police because of his ability to hide in remote, hilly areas which were difficult for police to traverse.

Police said that the unwillingness of residents to pass on information because of fear was another factor that made it difficult for him to be captured.

Leading up to his death, police had also offered a reward of $500,000 for information leading to his capture.

“He would be one of many persons from both gangs — One Order and Klansman — who we are looking for,” said Castelle.