AN alleged top-tier member of two criminal gangs in Westmoreland, who was out on bail after being charged with murder, was fatally shot during a reported confrontation with members of a police team on Thursday.

The alleged gangster, 27-year-old Joseph Fyffe, also known as Nancy, was before the court in connection with the September 2021 fatal shooting of Shaquille Smith. He was also a suspect in the May 2025 murder of Mickail Reid at a bar and gaming lounge in Frome, Westmoreland.

The police had also identified Fyffe as a person of interest in the murder of Dwayne Parchment, on July 30, 2025 in Solas District, Frome, and a person of interest in the murder of 38-year-old Theresa Nokisha Bailey in York Hill, Green Island, Hanover.

According to a police report, just after 4:00 am Thursday, law enforcement personnel, armed with a search warrant, were conducting a targeted operation at a house in the Morgan’s Bridge area of Westmoreland when they entered a two-apartment concrete dwelling on Belle Isle Road in Grange Hill.

The police say Fyffe pointed a gun at the members of the security forces who responded with gunfire. He was shot and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A firearm was reportedly seized by the police following the shooting.

Fyffe was a reported top-tier member of the Hellsyde Gang and the Antspose Gang, which are active in contract killings, shootings, and other violent crimes in western Jamaica.

Police intelligence suggests that Fyffe functioned as a triggerman for these gangs.