Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
TWO MEN have been charged in connection with the seizure of four illegal firearms which were recovered in the Anchovy and Salt Spring areas of St. James on Sunday.
Charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition were levelled against 33-year-old Royan Brown of Meggie Top, Salt Spring, and Lloyd 'Anthony' Christie of Wiltshire, St. James. Brown is facing two counts for each offence.
The confiscated weapons are a Remington shotgun, a .357 Magnum pistol, an Intra Tech 9 mm and a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver.
RISE IN STATISTICS
Statistics show that Sunday's find brings to 41 the number of illegal guns seized in the parish this year. St. James has recorded 85 homicides this year with the gun being the weapon of choice in the majority of the murders committed.
Brown was detained after two illegal weapons were found at his residence during a police raid conducted between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Meggie Top area. A .38 Smith and Wesson with two rounds, and an Intra Tech 9 mm, with the serial number AO12129, were reportedly found in his house.
Christie was held about 1:50 p.m. the same day in Anchovy and later handed over to the police who were responding to reports that an alleged robber had been caught. He was searched and a .357 Magnum revolver with five live rounds were taken from him.
'HIGH VISIBILITY'
Five hours after Christie was held, a citizen handed over the Remington shotgun to the Montego Bay Police which he said he found in the Meggie Top community. On Monday, a joint security team staged a pre-dawn operation in the communities of Norwood and Glendevon but the operation yielded no success.
"We have been having some trouble in that spot and we have to maintain a high visibility in the community," said Superintendent John Morris, crime chief for the Area One Police Division.
Over the past two weeks, there has been increased gun violence, reportedly triggered by feuding gangs in the Norwood area, which has resulted in at least two murders.
