News Briefs

Accused bike robber charged

Twenty-year-old France Gardener of Eden Hill, St Mary, has been charged with the armed robbery of three persons in Jacks River in the parish on June 27.

Reports from the Oracabessa Police are that about 10:45 p.m., three persons were on their way home when two men travelling on a motorcycle, one armed with a gun, robbed them of three cellular phones, $30,000 and other items.

Gardner, who was arrested on September 5, was arrested and charged with robbery with aggravation and illegal possession of firearm on September 14.

The other suspect involved in the robbery is being sought by the police.

 

 

Two charged with murder

Two men have been arrested and charged with the murder of 39-year-old Everald Kepple otherwise called ‘Dila’ of McCooks Pen in St Catherine on May 6, 2019.

They are 25-year-old Shane Roberts and 38-year-old Gerado Douglas, otherwise called ‘Rado’ both of Mason River, Clarendon, and McCooks Pen in St Catherine.

Reports are that about 7:30 a.m. on May 6, Kepple was making a purchase inside a shop, when he was attacked by the accused, along with a third man.

They reportedly opened gunfire at Kepple as he ran from the shop before falling on the McCooks Pen main road. The men allegedly stood over him, shot and chopped him several times, before leaving the scene.

Roberts and Douglas are also facing charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

 

 

JDF conducting live firing in Twickenham Park

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) will be conducting live firing exercises at the Twickenham Park Gallery Range in the parish of St Catherine until this Saturday.

It is advising residents that there is no need to be alarmed by the presence of the soldiers. However, they are asked to secure livestock until the end of the training and also not to interfere with and/or move security flags and notifications.

In the event that unexploded ordnances or paraphernalia are found, please report it to the JDF headquarters at (876) 960-8776.

Members of the public who may have concerns about the presence of soldiers in their area may also contact the JDF.

 

 

Indigenous group against renaming of T&T’s Piarco Int’l Airport

Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous population say it is against plans by the government to rename the Piarco International Airport in honour of the country’s first prime minister Dr Eric Williams.

The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community said while it continues to promote and support the recovery and preservation of “our indigenous peoples heritage, including its cultural goods, services and traditions”, it does not support the plans to rename the airport.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, addressing Trinidad and Tobago nationals in New York last week, said he was considering the renaming of the airport.

But in a statement, the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community said it was “following with interest the current discussion”.

It said that apart from the “displacement of the First Peoples, who were deprived of their land under various stages of colonisation, First Peoples had to submit to name changes from the indigenous language to a foreign language.

“In addition, the names of indigenous settlements were changed to reflect the successive Spanish and British colonisations. The remaining indigenous names of places and indigenous nations such as Arima, Chaguanas, Chacachare, Piarco, Couva, Arouca, Carapachaima, Tamana, for example, are precious to the First Peoples as representatives of the lost languages,” the statement added.