Running to the hills
Published:Sunday | June 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Lovelette Brooks, News Editor
EARLY YESTERDAY morning, the fervent search for the fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke took security personnel to the verdant hills of St Ann where it is believed that Coke owned property. While the area remained under surveillance, Coke was not found.
Back in Kingston, the nation's attention is once more drawn to the hills of upper St Andrew where the hunt took the security forces a fortnight ago, resulting in the death of Kingston businessman Keith Clarke.
It is an area where the wealthy retreat and where criminals are also spreading their tendrils.
Kirkland Heights is one of the pristine residential enclaves in upper St Andrew and is characterised by a mixture of multi-storey houses.
On May 27, the quiet neighbourhood witnessed what can best be described as predawn terror. Security personnel, in their search for Coke, stormed the neighbourhood where they believed he was in hiding.
Residents of Kirkland Heights reported they were awakened by loud explosions which lasted for more than two hours. After the 'operation' an unusual occurrence in these environs, Clarke, whose house was riddled with bullet holes, was dead and Dudus was still at large.
Although operating out of gritty Tivoli Gardens, Dudus has reportedly invested heavily in real estate in upscale St Andrew.
The police have confirmed that he owns a sprawling split-level house in Plantation Heights.
It is also reported that another alleged gang leader Cleveland 'Cassie' Downer, who operates out of the area known as 'Common' off Red Hills Road in St Andrew, has houses in upscale Chancery Hall area.
Palatial spread
Incarcerated Matthews Lane com-mander, Donald 'Zekes' Phipps, not to be outdone, has a palatial spread on Highland Drive, Havendale, also in St Andrew.
When held by the police, Zekes reportedly had J$18 million in cash in his house.
The control of substantial wealth has given many local gangsters the chance to move into mansions in the hills, but this flight has not gone unnoticed by the security forces.
Superintendent Altermoth Campbell, in whose North St Andrew Division a number of these communities fall, has long noticed the trend of these crime bosses setting up their homes far from the poverty-stricken inner-city communities where they are based.
In a 2009 media interview, Campbell noted that Ricardo 'Bully' Thomas, who was wanted on several gun and shooting charges, was nabbed in Hope Pastures.
That was many metres and a complete lifestyle away from Cockburn Gardens in south-west St Andrew where 'Bully' was boss before he was killed.
Another man on the police most-wanted list, Junior Williams, a reported gang leader out of Seaview Gardens, was held in Jacks Hill.
Last year, the alleged leader of the Montego Bay-based Stone Crusher gang, Eldon Calvert, who was at the top of police most-wanted list, was captured in an upscale apartment in the rustic community of Wood Grove in St James.
Calvert, who was wanted in connection with several counts of murders and shootings had a $1-million bounty placed on his head before he was held.
"Dangerous criminals have a preference for upscale communities when they decide to invest in real estate," a senior cop from the St Andrew North Division told The Sunday Gleaner.
"They don't live in the inner-city where they work, they prefer the quiet residential areas where they can build substantial homes, and believe they can blend in and go unnoticed," he said.
Kirkland Heights share attributes with other luxurious communities such as Chancery Hall, Smokey Vale, Plantation Heights and Queen Hill, all pricey with commanding views of the city of Kingston.
Chancery Hall is located above Havendale and Meadowbrook communi-ties. The area with breathtaking vistas is ideal for a dream-house location.
The Sunday Gleaner did not see one house that could be described as minimalist on its tour of Chancery Hall last Wednesday.
Most of the homes are multi-storey, with wide swathes of lawn encircled by cut-stone walls.
"In these areas, the homes are well-established, there are places of choice with full-length walls which is a security feature," says Kingsley Sangster, CEO of Sangster Realty.
Set apart from middle-income gated communities typical in Kingston, the upper St Andrew houses spread out over many acres, most set back from the road.
Quite a few have surveillance security systems almost hidden from view, mounted at strategic places. Flower beds run riot on various properties, painting pretty pictures.
But there are gaudy homes which obviously did not get the stamp of approval from professional architects.
All of these 'massive' houses are owned by high-income earners.
"Senior professionals such as doctors and lawyers invest in these areas. And they love to build mansions, just like the poor man who becomes wealthy quickly. Some of them (nouveau riche) don't think properly, they just build a big house on a hill, something they always dreamt of doing," Sangster said.
According to the realtor, property values are extremely high in these neigh-bourhoods. A three-quarter acre plot can cost as much as $6 million while a typical house may value up to $100 million and more.
And Carmen Smith, sales executive at Coldwell Banker, says that the flight to hills is taking place with fervour now as residential properties closer to the city centre cannot be had.
"Chancery Hall and similar areas are preferred among homebuyers with substantial savings or investments that are turning over, " she said.
Feel of luxury
And the reasons, she offered, why these communities tend to attract retirees and older couples are the same that lure criminals seeking safe haven.
"People want space, and they like the calm, comfortable feel of luxury."
Helping residents to set up and maintain active neighbourhood watches is Inspector Anthony Tracey, island coordinator of the Community Safety and Security Branch within the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
"Presently, there are over 50 neighbourhood-watch groups in Jamaica, some quite large while some are smaller. Upper St Andrew has some of the most active groups in Jamaica," said Tracy.
He told The Sunday Gleaner that for years sellers of houses and property would "just take the money" without checking the background of prospective buyers.
Now efforts are being made to address that.
"It's called access control. A person selling a house will be pressured to furnish details to neighbours which will satisfy residents that the prospective buyer is not someone of questionable character," said Tracey.
While there is no legislature supporting this in Jamaica, the inspector is adamant that people power can make it work. "The biggest law in Jamaica is people. If the people come together and say we don't want or like this, it will change."