St Mary cops hunt for missing guns

Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer

A military-police team was spurred into action in beleaguered communities in Annotto Bay, St Mary, after two licensed weapons reportedly owned by Robert Montague, who is chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party, were among four weapons being stored in a chest that fell into the wrong hands last week.

The four weapons - three shotguns and one revolver - were being stored in a chest that was stolen from a house that was burgled in the area, only days after Annotto Bay was rocked by a triple murder.

Forty-one-year-old David McIntosh, his common-law wife, 44-year-old Maureen Pinnock, and 27-year-old Dwayne Harris were gunned down by thugs about 3 o'clock last Thursday morning in their homes.

Superintendent Dean Johnson, who is in charge of the parish, confirmed that the four weapons belonged to two licensed firearm holders.

"Two of them were simply being stored at the premises. It is perfectly legal to do so," Johnson added. "Three shotguns and one revolver were stolen from the residence of Najeer Haber, also known as 'Geego', on the 22nd of July. The firearms were being stored in a safe which was detached and removed from a house and the police have been investigating."

MASSIVE OPERATION

The incidents prompted a heavy contingent of police and army personnel to swoop down on sections of the community early yesterday. Six men were interviewed and Johnson said one man has been held in connection with the July 18 triple murder.

He said between 4:30 and 9:45 a.m., a team comprising police personnel from St Mary, Portland, Area Two headquarters, Mobile Reserve, Flying Squad and Caribbean Search Centre, and the Jamaica Defence Force carried out a massive cordon-and-search operation.

Johnson told The Gleaner that 34 houses were searched in Fort George Road, Zone Five, Little Tivoli, Sea Side, Back Lane and the Gibraltar Housing Scheme.

The senior policeman revealed that the operation yielded one home-made firearm.

He said the three incidents that led the police team in the area were not necessarily interconnected. "Our investigations and intelligence have led us to various locations in Annotto Bay," he said.

gary. spaulding@gleanerjm.com