WESTERN BUREAU:
THE FINDINGS of the much-anticipated audit of security firms in western Jamaica, which was ordered by the commanding officer of Area One, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Keith 'Trinity' Gardener, should be completed by this weekend.
"The audit is going well," ACP Gardener told The Gleaner in an interview yesterday. "I am supposed to have everything by the end of the week."
ACP Gardener, whose area of command covers the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland, issued the directive in the aftermath of last month's major arm robbery at a security company in Montego Bay. In the heist at Crime Prevention Security Company, eight firearms and $1.2 million were stolen by armed thugs.
ASSESS PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
In his directive to the commanding officers in the four western parishes, ACP Gardener instructed that they assess the physical structure of security companies, paying special attention to how the companies keep and store firearms.
On June 12, three armed men reportedly went to the Montego Bay-based security firm on Humber Avenue where they held a female guard and a maintenance worker at gunpoint.
The gunmen reportedly forced the hostages upstairs to the security offices where they kicked open the door and stole six .38 revolvers, two shotguns, several rounds of ammunition and $1.2 million in cash.
During their escape, the attackers took the hostages with them in their getaway vehicle. The maintenance worker was shot and injured in the Ironshore area where he tried to get away. Three male suspects, including a 35-year-old employee of the security firm, and $345,000 of the stolen cash, were found during a police operation in Liliput, St. James.
The investigating officer, Sergeant Paul Bernard, told The Gleaner that the security guard, identified as Michael Bethune, was subsequently charged in connection with the robbery after he was pointed out during a police line-up. The other suspects were released.
"He has been to court twice and was remanded on charges of robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm, kidnapping and shooting with intent. He will return to the Western Regional Gun Court on Thursday," he explained.
Sgt. Bernard said that two former employees are being sought in connection with the incident. They are 44-year-old deportees Andrew Lawrence of Liliput, St. James, and Wesley Tyrell, 29-year-old resident of Olympic Gardens in Kingston.
