One year after Cherry Tree Lane killings, police ‘remain committed to justice’
CLARENDON, Jamaica— Police say they remain committed to securing justice for the victims of the Cherry Tree Lane mass shooting and their families as the first anniversary of the massacre approaches.
The two accused in the case, 33-year-old Leighton Whyte, otherwise called ‘Bans’, and 28-year-old Dushane Smalling, otherwise called ‘Snowman’, are to next appear before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on November 6.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in a statement Wednesday said the Area 3 Major Investigation Division is continuing their probe and forensics are being analysed in pursuit of any additional leads into the shooting that left eight people dead and several others injured on Sunday, August 11, 2024, in Clarendon.
READ: TRAIL OF BLOOD
Reports of the incident were that on August 11, 2024, about 8:45 pm, a group of men in a Toyota motor car drove up to a birthday party in the community and opened fire on the attendees.
The resulting deaths included that of a seven-year-old boy, a father and daughter, and five others.
Following the incident, then-Acting Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey told a news conference at Jamaica House that the massacre was the latest act of bloodshed in a dispute over spoils between feuding gangsters overseas who inked “homicidal contracts” for revenge that had spread to several communities in Clarendon.
The police had announced that five men were in custody and others killed in alleged armed confrontations, including Kendrick Campbell, also known as Wormy and 23-year-old Steve Smith, otherwise called ‘Thicka’.
The shooting, which shocked the nation and resulted in a state of public emergency being declared in the area, claimed the lives of 57-year-old Errol Stewart, 50-year-old Lawrence Francis, 40-year-old Margaret Bonner, 32-year-old Jermaine Boothe, 26-year-old Cavel Daley, 20-year-old Diamond Bennett, seven-year-old Aiden Bartley, and Courtney Messam.
The two suspects were charged on August 21, 2024, with eight counts of murder, eight counts of wounding with the use of a firearm, shooting with intent, unauthorised possession of ammunition, and possession of a prohibited weapon.
The police are urging anyone with information that could assist in this investigation to call Crime Stop at 311, the National Intelligence Bureau at 811, or the nearest police station.
