Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer
Today, the main roads of Spanish Town are bustling again as shoppers and commuters go about their
business. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor
THE ELIMINATION of reputed gang leader Donovon 'Bulbie' Bennett has yielded significant benefits in reducing the incidence of crime, including murder, in Spanish Town, according to the police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds, who heads the highly-touted Operation Kingfish, is in no doubt that the removal of Bennett is largely responsible for the reduction. "Bennett was killed at the end of October, and when you look at the comparative analysis for November 1 to December 31, 2004, there were 37 murders in Spanish Town, and this went down to 20 for the corresponding period last year," he said. Similarly, ACP Hinds noted, over the comparative
periods, shootings in Spanish Town went down from 46 in 2004 to 20 last year "and the trend is continuing as a reflection of the inroads we have made."
LUCRATIVE EXTORTION RACKET
At the time of his death during a reported shoot-out with the security forces at his hideaway in the hills of Rock River, Clarendon, Bennett was being sought in connection with several murders. His 'Klansman' gang reportedly controlled the lion's share of the lucrative extortion racket in the Old Capital.
The battle to succeed Bennett as head of 'Klansman' has been a brutal one, according to ACP Hinds, with several of the leading combatants being killed, while others have been taken int
custody by the police. While no one has emerged locally, as the undisputed leader, he told The Sunday Gleaner that police intelligence suggested the strings were being pulled by someone who was currently residing abroad.
As for 'One Order', the other major gang in Spanish Town, the Kingfish boss believes this organisation is "gradually disintegrating" following the arrest of several members in mid-2005, and the consequent migration of others outside of the parish, with some even going abroad. "They are no longer as cohesive a unit as they once were," Hinds confidently asserted.
This is a far cry from the situation a few years ago when 'One Order' emerged as a major challenge to the dominance of 'Klansman'. It was just after the June 2003 Local Government Elections. The Jamaica Labour Party had won back control of the St. Catherine Parish Council, and, according to police sources, gangs of young men loosely affiliated to that party, decided to form one cohesive unit to mirror the party's new political dominance in the parish capital.
BLOODY CONFRONTATIONS
This led to a series of bloody confrontations with members of 'Klansman', similarly connected to the People's National Party. One of the major prizes sought was the town's main bus park, scene of a thriving protection racket. So intense was the fight for this and other locations, according to the police, that the rival gangsters staged regular daytime shoot-outs on the mean streets of the historic town,
western movie style. That year, there were 103 murders in Spanish Town, up from 78 the previous year. It rose to a staggering 191 in 2004 at the height of the struggle, before declining to 175 last year.
Today, the main roads of Spanish Town are bustling again as shoppers and commuters go about their business. But it is not an entirely carefree town at this point, Inspector Derrick Champ-anie of the Spanish Town Police Station conceded, as he surveyed the scene in the vicinity of the station on Burke Road. More people, he said, needed to come forward and share information with the police in order for them to fully bring the situation under control.
