News

A MAN out on bail after the London-based Privy Council quashed his murder conviction and ordered a retrial was yesterday fatally shot by the police.

Rupert Wallace, otherwise called 'Killer Miller', was killed by members of the Joint Task Force in the Stanton Housing Scheme near Morant Bay, St Thomas, Friday morning.

The police report that a team from the Joint Task Force went to the Stanton Housing Scheme in search of Wallace and his cronies.

It is reported that some members of the team circled the house where it was believed Wallace was located, while others entered the house.

According to the police, Wallace, who was in the house, tried to escape through a back door armed with a Tang Folio nine-millimetre pistol.

rounds fired

It is alleged that in his bid to escape, Wallace fired several rounds at the police, who returned the fire, killing him.

The gun and three rounds of ammunition were allegedly taken from Wallace and sent to the forensic laboratory.

The police say Wallace was a suspect in a number of crimes, including murder and extortion.

In addition, the police report that Wallace, a former member of the Joel Andem gang, was one of the major gang leaders in eastern St Thomas.

He had been previously convicted for the murder of Sylvia Edwards, the gas station operator who was kidnapped and killed and her body dumped in Papine, St Andrew, in 2000.

Wallace appealed the conviction and the Privy Council ordered a retrial in 2006. The case is still before the courts.