MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Councillors here, shocked by Tuesday’s four-hour stand-off between the security forces and murder suspect Dave Wilson, raised concerns over how deportees are monitored by the police.

This as news spread that Wilson had served prison time in Canada for armed robberies and was reportedly deported at least three times.

“He was deported three times already. Somebody like that should have been on the radar. Somebody like that should have been under a microscope. It begs the question… a similar crime like this, though not as serious as the one here, was already committed in Canada,” said Councillor Mario Mitchell (People’s National Party, Bellefield Division) at Thursday’s sitting of the Manchester Municipal Corporation.

According to The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada, Wilson and an accomplice had been twice deported before a February 2003 robbery in Toronto during which heavily armed men, wearing bulletproof vests, overpowered guards in an armoured truck making a cash delivery to a bank.

Wilson and his accomplice had both been convicted and imprisoned in the 1990s for armed robberies and, on separate occasions, the two were deported after serving prison terms.

Fifty-four-year-old Wilson was accused of the shooting death of 31-year-old Adrian Bernard early Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, Jamaican police said they were investigating the murder and disclosed that Wilson was a deportee.

However, councillors in Manchester are questioning what measures are in place to monitor deportees.

“There are a number of things that make me very uncomfortable… When Donald Trump was re-elected I asked the question in this very council about those persons who are coming in by deportation. Are we monitoring them?” said Councillor Mario Mitchell (People’s National Party, Bellefield Division).

“I am asking from a standpoint where it needs to go to a higher place. We need to have some monitoring of these persons. I hope the people of Manchester can be reassured that we are monitoring the situations…” he added.

Inspector Berthlyn Lloyd, sub-officer in charge of the Manchester Community, Safety and Security Branch, responded to the concerns, but made it clear that the questions will be directed to her superior.

“Regarding the monitoring of the deportee[s] I think something will have to be done, so I will take the concerns to the Superintendent [Carey Duncan] so that they can have things in place to treat with it,” she said.

Her response triggered further expressions of concern as Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell also questioned the work of the police.

“I am taken aback to say that you would have to do whatever it is with the superintendent… I thought there was a unit within the Jamaica Constabulary Force or a section that would be monitoring deportees. They come and you watch their movements and all of that, and so it would be easy for the communities or the country to know what they were charged for. What are they here for? Because, for that type of situation that happened on Caledonia Road, you can imagine if it was a day when school was in session there [at the Vocational Training Development Institute], or it was a busy day, what could have happened,” he said.

“I think if we don’t have it or if we have it, it has to be monitored more and more, because more deportees are coming back to Jamaica than normal. We need to look at what is happening and how it is that we are going to carve out some things, so at least the citizens know,” added Mayor Mitchell.

He pointed to the serious charges for which Wilson served time in Canada.

“He was charged for robbery [with] an assault rifle. He was deported to Jamaica three times. For the life of me and for the life of the citizens of Manchester this is one person who should be on the radar, it should be something that everybody knows and where he lives and all of that. [There] has to be better monitoring,” said Mayor Mitchell.

Councillor Mario Mitchell interjected and pointed to an article published in Thursday’s Jamaica Observer.

“The monitoring needs to be taken up seriously, because if you look at the research here. He [Wilson] started showing signs one year ago of being a nightmare neighbour. He started disrupting the garbage and being aggressive with his neighbours and those were already there and the system should have picked up,” said Mario Mitchell.

He also questioned whether the police have on their radar former military personnel with superior training who have gone rogue.

“When they [go] on the other side they become a serious threat to us as a nation. Are we also monitoring them along with the deportees, those who now start to lead gangs?” asked Mario Mitchell.

The police said on Tuesday that Bernard and Wilson had a dispute over the cost of an item.

“It is alleged that during the argument Wilson left and returned with a rifle and opened gunfire at Bernard, who was seated in his motor car. Wilson fled the scene in a blue Honda Accord. The police were summoned, and on their arrival Bernard was seen with gunshot wounds to his right leg and chest. He was assisted to hospital where he was pronounced dead,” the police statement read in part.

Detectives probing the murder went to Wilson’s apartment on Caledonia Road in Mandeville. There, the authorities said Wilson fired at the security forces from a ground-floor apartment at the front of the complex. Two armoured vehicles and a truck had to be used to breach the premises and remove a grille during the security forces’ entry.

The police said following Tuesday’s incident 745 assorted rounds of ammunition were seized. They also said that an Omni Hybrid multi-calibre rifle with 28 5.56 rounds and a Pietro Beretta 9mm pistol with an affixed magazine containing 17 rounds were found beside Wilson, who was fatally shot.

Inspector Berthlyn Lloyd, sub-officer in charge of the Manchester Community, Safety and Security Branch, addressing Thursday’s sitting of the Manchester Municipal Corporation. (Karl McLarty)

Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell addressing Thursday’s sitting of the Manchester Municipal Corporation. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)