A reputed gangster and at one time Jamaica’s most wanted man, Christopher ‘Dog Paw’ Linton reigned as a leader of Jamaica’s criminal underworld for more than a decade.

He was especially notorious in the communities of Papine, Lintyre, Tavern and August Town.

Said to have operated a successful extortion ring, the Jamaica College old boy was considered intelligent and was reverred by his cronies. It is believed that throughout his criminal career, Dog Paw masterminded many violent undertakings and a boatload of gang activities that made him one of the most feared men in the St Andrew area.

But, as his notoriety grew, so did the police’s interest in him. Dog Paw kept popping up on the police’s radar especially after he was accused of leading an attack, in Bedwards Garden, in Kingston that involved 50 men spraying a house with bullets, then burning it down leaving a family of three dead. The deceased were identified as 50-year-old Maris Hilton, 31-year-old Diana Forbes and her six-year-old son, Jahame McKay.

The gruesome ordeal led a very determined police force in search of Linton. Law enforcers at one point, even offered $250,000 to anyone who could assist them in finding Linton.

It was during this manhunt back in 2011 that “Dog Paw” reportedly penned messages to the police expressing his innocence and that he feared for his life. The police, however, sent back messages letting Linton know that he could turn himself in without worrying about his safety.

Reports are that ‘Dog Paw’ was found at a house in Elletson flats, and an illegal 9mm pistol was also found. He was reportedly found in the company of a popular uptown socialite. 

He then found his way into the bowels of the Jamaican justice system. 

In 2012, Linton was freed of a gun-related charge, but in February, 2013, Linton and a co-accused Micah Allen were convicted on other gun-related charges in the High Court. Linton and Allen were convicted for shooting at two police officers who were travelling in a service vehicle along Tavern Drive, St Andrew in April 2010.

In 2017,  the trial against Linton and two other men accused of the gruesome triple murder in Bedward Gardens, St Andrew that initially put him on the police radar, collapsed.

Linton’s two co-accused, Yannick Ellis and Donald Allen were freed after prosecutors told a judge in the Home Circuit Court that they were discontinuing the trial against them subject to the availability of witnesses.

Linton and his co-accused had been in custody since 2010 when they were charged with killing 50-year-old Maris Hilton, 31-year-old Diana Forbes and her six-year-old son, Jahame McKay, in Bedward Gardens.

In April 2021, the reputed gang leader’s conviction was quashed in the Court of Appeal after spending more than seven years behind bars.

Linton had been serving a 15-year sentence on a conviction for a 2012 case of shooting at the police. His co-convict in the case, Micah Allen, was also freed by the appeal court.

Head of the Crime and Security Portfolio, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey, said that since his release, Linton has been implicated in several murders and shootings.

In June 2021, the police said Linton was among a group of four men shot by unknown assailants in the Cane River area of Bull Bay.

He finally met his end at the hands of lawmen on October 11, 2021. He was killed shortly before 2:00 pm. Officers acting on information said they intercepted a vehicle in which armed men were believed to be travelling in Elletson Flats, St Andrew. Upon arrival, the lawmen commanded that the vehicle stop. Police reports say Linton alighted from the vehicle, opening fire at the police. The gunfire was returned and Linton was shot.

He was taken to a nearby medical facility where he succumbed to his injuries