(Jamaica Gleaner) In what the police suspect to have been an illicit deal gone sour, three men of St James addresses died in St Ann on Saturday night, while one is in police custody and a firearm recovered.
One man was shot dead in the car park of a popular St Ann restaurant in Drax Hall, while two of the suspects died when their getaway car crashed into a truck in Llandovery, a few miles away.
A third occupant of the car was treated at the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital and released into police custody.
A 9mm pistol with five rounds was taken from the crashed car.
The man who was shot and killed has been identified as Ricardo Brown, 28.
One of the two who died in the crash has been identified as Ajohn McLeod, 26, of Cornwall Court, Montego Bay, St James, while the other is yet to be identified.
The driver of the car, Richard Gilbourne, 30, also of Cornwall Court, remains in police custody.
SHOOTING LINK
The police say they are believed to have been the men who shot and killed Brown.
Reports are that shortly before 7 o’clock on Saturday, Brown drove into the parking lot at Scotchies Jerk Centre when a car drove up behind him and three men alighted and opened fire, spraying the car with bullets, hitting him in the chest, right arm, and right side.
Two other vehicles nearby were damaged during the shooting.
The police, who were quick on the scene, transported Brown to the nearby St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Shortly after, news came that a white Toyota Axio motor car with three men on board had crashed into a truck along the Llandovery main road.
“It is believed that these men were the men that carried out the shooting at Scotchies Jerk Centre and were in the process of making their escape when the driver of the motor car lost control of the vehicle and collided into a motor truck,” the police stated.
DEAD AT HOSPITAL
All three occupants of the car were taken to the hospital, where McLeod was pronounced dead, while the unidentified man died later while being treated.
The police are seeking to make a connection between the incident and other criminal activities in St James, a parish where the lottery scam has been a major concern for law-enforcement authorities for more than a decade.
“We theorise it could have been an issue that developed in St James that played out in St Ann,” a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force told The Gleaner on Sunday evening.
On Sunday, when The Gleaner visited Scotchies, it was business as usual, with several vehicles in the parking lot and customers enjoying items from the menu.
Investigations continue.