Latoya Grindley, Features Writer

Three times he pulled the trigger, three times the gun apparently jammed. A Manchester businessman narrowly escaped death yesterday when a gunman held him up outside his home in Christiana, stole a bag containing more than $1 million and then tried to shoot him.

"He (the gunman) pointed a gun at me and I heard three clicks, which meant that he tried to fire three shots. But the gun jammed," the businessman, whom The Gleaner has chosen not to identify, said yesterday.

Mercy of God

"I believe in God and he is the only reason I am here now because I could have been lying in the morgue."

He added: "I was opening my garage to leave my house, so I put my bag down with my bank lodgements. I then heard a voice saying, 'Give me the bag! Give me the bag!' The man who was behind me then grabbed my bag and ran off. While running, he pointed a gun at me and I heard the three clicks."

The robber later ran into a nearby gully with the bag containing about $1.3 million.

Well-orchestrated plan

The store operator believes he was the victim of a well-orchestrated plan.

He said the execution of the plan began about 6:30 a.m. when he observed a green Nissan motor car parked some distance from his home.

"I was looking at the car through my window and a man came out and flew his bonnet like he was repairing something. He did this for over an hour and then he drove off to the top of the road like he was waiting."

After which, the store operator decided to leave home, which was when he was attacked.

No plans to relocate

The Mandeville businessman's miraculous survival comes just over a week after corporate Jamaica loudened its cry against crime, proposing drastic measures to curb the violence affecting the nation.

The businessman said this was the second time he had fallen victim to robbers, but noted he had no thoughts of moving.

"I have been living in this community since 1983 and have been operating my store for 25 years now, and I am not planning to move right now," he said. "What I would love to see is greater police vigilance in the community."

The police have so far taken statements from the businessman, but no arrests have been made.

"I haven't heard anything else from them since this morning, no arrests or anything," he said.

latoya.grindley@gleanerjm.com