THE JAMAICA Defence Force (JDF) has detained one of its soldiers as it probes the circumstances under which an off-duty private left Up Park Camp on Saturday with a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and went to Spanish Town, St. Catherine, to intervene in a family dispute.
The private, Howard Martin, is now locked behind bars at the military jail at Up Park Camp, pending disciplinary proceedings.
It is reported that on Saturday, the soldier came off duty and instead of handing over his rifle to the authorities, he dismantled the weapon and concealed the parts in a bag. He then left the army base without the weapon being detected.
It is also alleged that the private left for Spanish Town where the weapon was re-assembled. The police report that the soldier accosted a man who had a dispute with his brother. The accosted man, who was in the company of two other men, was searched and a home-made gun found in a bag he was carrying. It is alleged that the soldier escorted the three men at gunpoint to the Spanish Town Police Station, where he handed over the man with the gun to the police.
The police also report that while escorting the men to the station, the soldier complained that two of them were walking too fast and he fired warning shots in the air for them to slow down. While at the station, military personnel were alerted and the soldier taken back to Up Park Camp where he has since been detained.
