Lawrence Rowe charged with alleged assault of elderly woman
Published:Wednesday | July 23, 2025 | 8:51 PM
Lawrence Rowe, the former People's National Party (PNP) caretaker who recently switched allegiance to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), has been charged with assaulting an elderly woman, the second criminal case involving the politician in almost two months.
Superintendent Beresford Williams, head of the Kingston Central Police Division, told The Gleaner on Wednesday that Rowe was arrested and charged on July 18 with assault occasioning bodily harm.
The police say Rowe, 37, and the 66-year-old woman allegedly had an altercation that turned physical. It is further alleged that Rowe pushed the woman, causing her to fall to the ground and injure her right knee.
Rowe is scheduled to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on July 31.
On June 2, Rowe was charged with assault at common law following the circulation of a viral video that showed him confronting a man with a knife. In the video, which sparked public backlash, Rowe was seen with a knife held behind his back, approaching another man and saying, “Do what you need fi do 'cause you bad.”
The man later filed a complaint with the police, prompting the initial charge. Rowe was granted station bail.
The charges come in the wake of Rowe’s departure from the PNP after he was ousted as the party’s standard-bearer in Kingston Central and replaced by retired senior police officer Steve McGregor.
He has since joined the JLP and was a featured speaker at a party rally in the constituency on Sunday.
Meanwhile, police on Tuesday confirmed that PNP caretaker for St Thomas West, Hubert Williams, along with three other party activists, have been charged with assault and obstruction arising from an alleged altercation with the police in Danvers Pen last Friday.
They are to appear in the St Thomas Parish Court on August 13.
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