Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
ONE OF four men who held up and robbed a grocery shop in Cotton Tree district, Trelawny, on Wednesday night, was beaten to death by residents after the getaway car crashed into a tree.
The community is located near Albert Town in southern Trelawny.
The dead man has been identified as Llewellyn Williams, 30, of Silent Hill, Manchester. His cronies, one of whom was reportedly armed with a handgun, managed to escape the wrath of the irate residents.
"It look like dem nuh realise seh we nuh ramp wid thief bout yah," said a woman who admitted to inflicting a few blows on Williams. "Whether it is yam thief or grocery thief, it is the same treatment dem getting."
According to eyewitness reports, about 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, the quartet of robbers entered the grocery shop in Cotton Tree and held up the occupants. While executing the robbery, one of the men reportedly used a machete to inflict wounds to the proprietor and a patron.
CRASHED INTO A TREE
Following the robbery, the men escaped in a white Toyota Corolla motor car. However, while speeding through the district, the car reportedly got out of control and crashed into a tree. The men alighted from the vehicle and fled into nearby bushes.
When news of the robbery spread across the community, a posse of residents went in search of the men. Williams was reportedly found hiding in bushes and was severely beaten and hacked to death. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Falmouth Hospital.
The other men were not found.
The killing of Williams marked the second time in recent months that south Trelawny residents have dished out fatal mob justice to intruders.
In 2004, 21 mob killings were committed. The previous year, 20 persons were killed by mobs and 11 in 2002.
In March, residents of Mendez Town, near Wait-A-Bit, stoned and chopped to death Richard Dunkley, unemployed, of Mendez Town, and Anthony Fairclough, of Freeman's Hall, after they were reportedly caught stealing yam. The residents celebrated their demise by drinking white rum and dancing.
