MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Against the backdrop of last week’s fatal shooting of Kimani Bindloss, a man who police say challenged them in a gunfight in Knockpatrick, head of the Manchester police Deputy Superintendent Odean Dennis is reassuring civilians that they won’t be harmed if they comply and surrender peacefully to cops.

“I want to also assure both law-abiding citizens and others that despite the noise surrounding other incidents in the parish of late, our team remains committed to bringing perpetrators to justice. Therefore, where a suspect refrains from doing anything to jeopardise the lives of my men [and women], no harm will come to them as was the case in this instance where a weapon was seized without incident and two persons will now have their day in court,” he said in an audio release Sunday evening.

His comments were part of a statement detailing the arrest of two men during an operation in Heartease, Manchester, where a 9mm pistol and six rounds of ammunition were seized Sunday morning.

According to Dennis, one of the men held during that seizure was connected to an individual who was involved in a multiple murder committed in July.

On July 18 Deneekia Pounall, 24, a nursing student at Knox Community College, a resident of Heartease in the parish, and her neighbour 21-year-old Sadefa Henry were shot dead at Horseshoe Curve on Caledonia Road in a taxi by a gunman who had posed as a passenger. Police subsequently charged Ramalio Miles, 32, of Bonnie View Terrace, Melrose Mews, Manchester, in connection with the double murder.

Dennis commended detectives for following leads and solving cases.

“This underscores the high level of connectivity our investigators have been unearthing between criminal suspects, other persons of interest to the police, and some of the crimes being committed in the parish. Secondly, I wish to commend the officers for the expert way in which they executed this operation,” he said.

Dennis said police are also targeting parties being held without permits as part of a clampdown on unprotected gatherings.

He pointed to a sound system operator and a promoter who were arrested in Coley Mountain near Mile Gully on Sunday about 6:00 pm, disclosing that both men will face charges for breaches of the Noise Abatement Act and the Spirit Licence Act.

“I would like to advise citizens that they are to refrain from hosting these parties and they are also to refrain from attending them, because these events will not be properly policed and therefore, they represent areas where other crimes, for example, shootings and murders could occur,” said Dennis.

“We have had incidents such as those occurring at ‘unpermitted’ events prior to now and we don’t want to see a recurrence. The Manchester police is also very serious about the prosecuting of persons for these breaches, as such we will be going right across the parish on a drive to ensure persons refrain from breaching the Noise Abatement Act,” added Dennis.