MICHAEL 'LASSIE' FORBES
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE POLICE on Wednesday night cornered a man whom they say is one of St.
James' Most Wanted criminals in Huddersfield, St. Mary, where he was fatally shot.
He has been identified as 36-year-old escaped convict Michael 'Lassie' Forbes of Glendevon, St. James.
Forbes, leader of the notorious Stone Crusher gang based in Norwood, St. James, escaped from the Richmond Farm correctional facility in 2003. He was serving a seven-year sentence for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.
"Of the ten most wanted, four have died in situations of confrontation with the security forces, the most recent being last night when the leader of the Stone Crusher Gang was killed in St. Mary," Assistant Commissioner of Police, Keith 'Trinity' Gardener, in charge of Area One, said during a press briefing yesterday.
LEADING OPERATIONS
"He had fled the area based on the publicity that was given to the gang, but was still leading the operations from outside the parish."
Reports are that, about 11:30 p.m., acting on intelligence, members of the Montego Bay police along with the Special Anti-Crime Task Force went to a three-storey house in the upscale area of Huddersfield.
On their approach, Forbes reportedly responded by pulling a gun. He was shot and killed. A Beretta 9mm semiautomatic pistol, two magazines and 31 rounds were taken from him.
A young woman, who is believed to be Forbes' girlfriend, was found at the house and was taken into custody. She is said to be from the parish of Westmoreland.
The Stone Crusher gang has been fingered as a major criminal network in St. James, which has been linked to a spate of heinous murders including Tuesday's attacks where five persons, three men and two women, were massacred.
