Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THERE HAS been a 30 per cent increase in the number of murders committed in St. James this year.
Since January, there have been 72 murders committed, 21 more than the corresponding period in 2004. Furthermore, there have been 119 reported cases of robberies while 33 illegal firearms have been recovered by the lawmen.
The latest casualty of the parish's galloping murder rate was Anthony Brown, a 29-year-old electrician, who was killed about 9:00 p.m. by three of four gunmen who robbed a shopkeeper and customers at a shop in Tropical Gardens, Irwin. The criminals stole at gunpoint $25,000, two cellular phones valued at $8,000 and a $16,000 gold chain. Brown was shot when the gunmen opened fire as they made their way from the shop to a waiting motor car.
The police say that earlier that evening, at 7:30, the group of gunmen had driven to McLean's Service Station in Falmouth, Trelawny, and robbed employees of $30,000 cash and $15,000 worth of phone cards.
APPEAL FOR UNITY
President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, Mark Kerr-Jarrett, made a fervent appeal to the citizenry of St. James to unite with the police in a renewed effort to reduce the high incidence of crime and violence plaguing the parish.
"The citizens need to be more vigilant in their community and neighbourhood watches," he said. "It is gonna take the whole nation to take a stand against crime - this barbarism is intolerable."
The chamber president added that he welcomes the government's move to amend legislation to facilitate the conviction of accused persons by scientific evidence. He suggested that in bolstering the Constabulary Force's forensic capabilities, the possibility of hiring scientists should also be explored.
"Crime has moved forward in technology and organisation and we have to get ahead of them," he concluded.
