Calm returns to Spanish Town as PM warns residents that ‘gangs are not your friends’

Spanish Town experienced a day of relative calm on Friday as businesses reopened and regular activities resumed following the tense atmosphere that gripped the town on Thursday.

The flare-up of violence on Thursday occurred after reputed One Order Gang leader Othniel ‘Thick Man’ Lobban was killed in a confrontation with police at Six Miles in St Andrew on Wednesday night. The incident, which followed a high-speed chase and a three-vehicle collision, had initially sparked fears of ongoing unrest.

By early Friday though, there were signs of a return to normality, with public transportation services resuming and commuters going about their routines. Informal vendors reclaimed their usual spots along the busy Burke Road, while businesses in the market district also reopened.

Billions lost

Dennis Robotham, president of the St Catherine Chamber of Commerce, expressed satisfaction with how the day turned out.

“Most businesses were opened today (Friday), all the vendors in the market district took up their respective places, things went pretty well, although the usual buzz of traffic was noticeably absent. We’ve expected that it will take a little while for total normalcy to return, but I was pleased with how the day went,” he stated.

Robotham estimated the economic losses caused by Thursday’s closures to be significant.

“About losses, we are talking about billions, because if you look at the domino effect – each business, the suppliers, the retailers, and the distribution chain were all affected. Many of them had to return to their warehouses yesterday because there was nobody to receive the goods,” he said.

The calm was attributed to heightened security measures and appeals for peace from government officials.

Olivia Grange, member of parliament for St Catherine Central, had urged residents not to create disturbances and assured the business community of their safety.

Superintendent Hopton Nicholson, commander of the St Catherine North police, also sought to assure stakeholders that the town was once again safe.

“The security force continues to maintain a strong presence in the town and the outskirts, and we don’t expect any form of disturbance from citizens,” he said.

Nicholson also revealed progress in police investigations, with four of seven persons of interest reporting to the authorities and being interviewed. Those in custody include Roniel Hope, Tashwayne Balfour, Kevaugn White, and Sharmar Dome. Nicholson urged the remaining individuals – known as Ranger, Prezie, and Jevaugn White – to surrender immediately.

“The security forces’ vigilance, coupled with community cooperation, has restored a sense of order to Spanish Town,” the St Catherine North police commander noted.

Threat to public order

Yesterday, speaking in Westmore-land, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the Government was paying close attention to the situation in Spanish Town.

He said the National Security Council on Thursday received a briefing from the Jamaica Constabulary Force and was satisfied that the police have made the necessary allocation of manpower and other resources to bring the situation under control and return calm to the town.

Holness added, however, that the intelligence briefing indicated that “the gangs continue to pose a clear and present danger and a real threat to public order, citizen security, public services and commerce” in Spanish Town.

“There is a sense, and we have seen it displayed publicly, that somehow the gangs are protectors of the community or are your friends,” Holness said in a message to residents of Spanish Town. “The gangs are not your protector, they are not your friends. They are using you.”

He said the Government’s strategy was not to target or harm communities in pursuit of gangs but instead to separate the gangs from communities and law-abiding citizens. With this in mind, he urged citizens of Spanish Town not to support the gangs and not to be enlisted in their activities.

“This is finally an opportunity for the liberation of Spanish Town,” Holness said, while noting that more investments would find their way to the community, through the Government and private sector, if citizens help the police and cooperate with the Government’s strategy to clear the space of the gang threat.

editorial@gleanerjm.com