MANCHESTER, Jamaica—A man said to be a car wash attendant was nabbed in Mandeville, Manchester, hours after he stole a Honda motorcar from his workplace in May Pen, Clarendon, on Tuesday.

Preliminary reports are that about 3:00 pm the owner of a Honda Stepwagon left her car at a car wash in May Pen. The owner was shortly after alerted that an attendant drove her vehicle away from the car wash.

The vehicle was tracked to a heavily vegetated area on the outskirts of Mandeville, and the police alerted.

Following a search operation, police attempted to intercept the stolen vehicle on Caledonia Road near a Burger King outlet. During a chase, the attendant who was driving the car hit several vehicles and reportedly crashed it into a utility pole.

Two other men who were in the vehicle managed to escape on foot. Police said a shootout ensued and the driver was apprehended.

The police believe the men were plotting to commit a robbery spree in Mandeville.

The incident resulted in people scampering for cover after hearing the loud explosions and saw frantic scenes in Mandeville.

The police have since cordoned off a section of Caledonia Road.

A relative of the car owner commended the police for their swift response in recovering the stolen vehicle.

“Jamaican police I don’t have anything bad to say about them. The system is improving because as we call the police and we were on our way [to Mandeville] the police were there with us. As of today I have nothing bad to say about police. The police a do dem work. Their quick response was key in this situation. Hats off to the police especially the police in Mandeville,” he said.

“Criminal elements not going to like tighter security measures, but to have a better Jamaica that is a necessary factor going forward tighter security has to be here, so that people doing legit business we can raise our families and make the society improve,” he added.

The grateful man is urging fellow Jamaicans to support the police.

“I like how the police respond to this. As someone first hand in it I have nothing bad to say about the police. It is necessary that we work with the police, because if we don’t work with the police, a the criminals we have to go work with and when they don’t get their way they are going to get rid of you,” he said.

— Kasey Williams