A recent pair of Gun Court convictions has the St Catherine South police division hopeful that it has broken the back of major gangs operating in two volatile areas under its command, Central Village and Old Harbour Bay, disrupting criminal activities including extortion, rape and the drugs-for-guns trade.

The convictions of Mark ‘Foodie’ Jacobs and Christopher ‘Cock Head’ Parchment, July 19 and 31, respectively, are being hailed by St Catherine South’s sleuths as having “put a dent in the ability for gangs to wage war in the division”.

Jacobs, allegedly a top member of Central Village’s China Town Gang and named by the police as a person of interest in several murders in the area, was found guilty of shooting with intent by High Court judge Vaughn Smith. Another man, known as ‘Creep’, was killed and a handgun recovered in the incident investigated by Dr Jason McKay.

Jacobs, who was charged on July 4, 2023, for shooting at the police on June 9, 2023, as well as possession of a prohibited weapon and unauthorised ammunition, is allegedly a major player in the China Town Gang’s extortion activities at the area’s taxi stand. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10.

“The China Town Gang has been engaged in a battle with the police in the area, resulting from an extortion racket at the taxi stand. Several lives have been lost in the conflict, including an off-duty policeman and a taxi operator, who challenged the gang’s extortion attempts,” a St Catherine South source stated.

Another alleged China Town Gang member, Tawayne Watson was convicted earlier this year for raping the same victim on two separate occasions.

“The victim claimed she was told by Watson that this was how her family would ‘pay rent’ to live in the community,” added the police source.

Parchment, an alleged gang leader in the Dagger Bay community of Old Harbour Bay, was convicted by High Court judge, Lisa Palmer Hamilton, for a 2020 shooting incident involving police personnel from the St Catherine South’s Special Operations Unit.

Gangs from Terminal Road and Dagger Bay, fighting over spoils from the drugs-for-guns trade in the Old Harbour Bay community has led to loss of lives including gang members in gun battles with the police.

Parchment was seriously wounded in the shooting incident with the police but survived. He is to be sentenced October 18, 2024.

The St Catherine South Special Operation Unit joined its counterparts from St Catherine North and the Area Five Fugitive Apprehension Team in Sunday’s attempted capture of One Order gang member Zimroy ‘Zim’ Geddes, who, along with two other men, were killed in a shoot-out with the cops in Tryall Heights, St Catherine, an operation in which three firearms were also recovered.