(Jamaica Observer) There was a bloody start to the new year in St James where two middle-aged men were on Sunday shot dead execution-style in that parish’s second double murder in as many days.
Fifty-nine-year-old vendor Ascor Peterkin and labourer Glendon Bryant, 52, both of Salt Spring in St James, were robbed before they were shot by armed thugs at about 7 am.
Police theorised that the hoodlums were in the process of robbing Bryant on Lammie Lane in the community when Peterkin, who was on his way home, unwittingly drove into the crime scene.
The thugs immediately ordered him out of the vehicle and told him to join Peterkin. Both men were robbed of an undetermined sum of cash and valuables before the bandits ordered them to lay on the ground. When they complied, the men were sprayed with bullets. The gunmen then ran from the scene.
The injured men were later taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where they were both pronounced dead, police said.
On Sunday, a tense calm blanketed the community as residents slowly gathered at the scene. The residents spoke in hushed tones as they watched investigators scour the area for clues.
Investigators have since said robbery may have been the main motive for the men’s deaths.
The early morning incident has increased fears among residents who had already been jolted by Saturday’s shooting spree in nearby Rose Heights, which left 20-year-old Michael Nesbeth, also called ‘Warren’, and Sharon Lawrence, 39, dead; and five other persons injured.
Elan Powell, head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), revealed that this incident may have been linked to an ongoing gang feud in the community.
“Information we have is that the target of the attack was Nesbeth and the other persons were really innocent bystanders who were shot as they tried to kill Nesbeth,” said Powell.
Police reported that Nesbeth, who they said was a member of a gang in the community, and the others were sitting at a hairdressing parlour when a group of rival gang members, armed with assault rifles, pounced on them and opened fire.
All of the injured persons were taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where Nesbeth and Lawrence died while they were being treated. The other persons have been listed in stable condition.
