MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Head of the Manchester Police Division, Superintendent Lloyd Darby, says investigators are close to making breakthroughs into two of three murders which rocked this south-central parish on Saturday, as suspects have been held.

In the first incident, about 2:03 pm Ricardo Bennett, a 49-year-old fisherman of Old Harbour in St Catherine, was standing outside a remittance outlet on Juici Plaza in Mandeville when he was pounced on by a gunman who opened fire, hitting him.

Bennett was taken to hospital by security personnel where he was pronounced dead.

In the second incident, about 10:00 pm, 15-year-old Vesteroy Sinclair was shot dead as he attempted to save his mother during a struggle with gunmen at his home in Turner Top District near the south Manchester/St Elizabeth border.

In the latest incident, shortly after 10:00 pm Sunday, Adrian Smikle, 35, a chef of Coleyville, near Christiana, was shot dead at a wake in Heartsease when a gunman pounced after jumping over a concrete wall.

“In two of the incidents we made arrests and the investigations in all three are progressing nicely. We just want to ask you, the citizens who might know something that can assist with these incidents or any incidents that have occurred in our parish, to participate in the process and give the information to the police,” Darby told journalists on Monday in Roxborough.

“We have different methods by which you can do so: You can call 811, 311 if you want to do it anonymously,” he encouraged.

When asked about the motives for each incident, Darby said the probes are at a delicate stage.

“I would not elaborate on the arrests, but sufficiently to say we are progressing with the investigations and we hope to reach a conclusion in at least two of these matters in short order,” he explained.

However, he said the police are exploring the possibility that Bennett’s murder is perhaps linked to lottery scamming.

“We are exploring that possibility based on where the incident took place. We know that people receive monies from these institutions, that are engaged in scamming and so that is one factor that we are exploring but we have not reached any conclusion as yet,” he said.

“We are relying on footage from JamaicaEye to help us to identify the suspect in this matter,” he added.

“I just want to offer condolences to the families of these victims and to reassure the citizens of Manchester, Jamaica and the Diaspora that the police in Manchester is using all of its resources to do all it can to solve all of these murders,” said Darby.