AN alleged member of the notorious Kings Valley Gang, which operates out of Grange Hill, Westmoreland, was one of two men fatally shot during a reported clash with members of a police team in Lime Hall, St Ann, early Monday morning.

He has been identified as 36-year-old Ricardo Hemmings, who once went by the monikers Junior and Black Oil. In recent times Hemmings has been called Chin Mix for his distinctive bleached complexion, which gave him the appearance of someone of Chinese descent.

According to police sources, Hemmings served as a trigger man and enforcer for the Kings Valley Gang, which has been the subject of numerous police operations. He was also a person of interest for police in several divisions in addition to those in his home base of Westmoreland as he was a known contract killer and a long-standing and dangerous figure in Jamaica’s criminal underworld.

Hemmings first became a person of interest for the police in 2016 and in July of that year an attempt was made to apprehend him in Green Island, Hanover. He reportedly fired at the police and escaped.

Months later Hemmings was identified as the shooter in an incident in which one man was left nursing gunshot wounds in Rock Spring, Hanover.

In 2017 Hemmings was moved to the police wanted list after he was linked to the murder of Ricardo “Manny” Stewart in Grange Hill.

Since then Hemmings has been linked to several other crimes, including a July 2020 incident in Grange Hill in which four people were shot.

According to police sources, Hemmings managed to evade capture by radically altering his appearance.

About 4:00 am on Monday the police launched a pre-dawn operation in Lime Hall where intelligence suggested that Hemmings was hiding.

The police report that law enforcement personnel, acting on a warrant in search of Hemmings, approached a two-bedroom house when two men attempted to flee from the rear of the premises. One of the men allegedly opened fire at the police, who returned fire, hitting one of them, while the other escaped.

As the police continued their operation, another man reportedly fired at them from inside the house. The cops said they returned fire, and the man was injured. A point-45 calibre pistol with a magazine containing three rounds was reportedly seized by the cops.

Both injured men were taken to St Ann’s Bay Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Up to press time on Tuesday the second man who was fatally shot remained unidentified.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) was notified and is conducting enquiries.

Last December the reputed leader of the Kings Valley Gang, Derval “Lukie” Williams and his sidekick Christon Grant were sentenced to eight years for plotting to murder a prosecution witness while behind bars. They have appealed their conviction and sentence.

The two remain before the courts on anti-gang charges.