By Robert Lalah, Staff ReporterAS THE rest of the nation celebrated Emancipation Day yesterday, a gun murder occurred on the Old Harbour Road, south west St. Catherine, near Spanish Town.
Winston 'Zatto' Henry, 55, a well-known businessman in the community, was shot dead about 12:25 p.m. as he stood in front of Buck 'n' Ham Palace Jerk Centre, his small restaurant on the Old Harbour Road, one of the many businesses he operated.
Reports are that a car stopped in front of Henry's businessplace, some 100 feet from the busy main road, and men dressed in police uniform, including helmets, got out and fired at him. Henry's girlfriend who was at the scene of the murder when The Gleaner arrived, said she believed he was hit by more than 20 bullets all over the body.
As citizens and police gathered at the scene, everyone giving his or her own version of the incident, it appeared that Mr. Henry's murder was well- orchestrated.
Senior Supt. Reneto Adams who said he was a close personal friend of Mr. Henry, and who was also at the crime scene, said a telephone caller, who he did not know, had warned him that Zatto would be killed in a drive-by shooting.
He said: "I went to see him that same day to warn him about the threat and he told me he could take care of himself. I, however, insisted that he be careful. I was, therefore, surprised when they called me at home to tell me Zatto had been killed in basically the same way that was outlined to me."
RESURGENCE OF CRIME
The murder of Henry who always had a firearm on him, caused an air of distress in the community.
"Bwoy pon di holiday weekend dem come back wid di foolishness. Jus' as we think we get a little break dis come happen. Ah when it ago end?" a bystander asked.
In 1992 Henry made the news when he won a four-year legal battle and a $1.2 million award against the St. Catherine Parish Council over the construction of a two-storey commercial building at Lot 2, Old Harbour Road, for which a stop order was issued.
Henry won his case when the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by the Parish Council that sought to set aside the $1.2 million Supreme Court award which was given to Henry when Mr. Justice Panton assessed damages in his favour in September 1991.
In 1988 the Parish Council had stopped the construction of Mr. Henry's building on the Old Harbour Road. Lawyers representing the Parish Council subsequently conceded that the Parish Council had no jurisdiction to issue the stop order. Henry applied for damages to be assessed against the Parish Council and he was awarded $1.2 million.
