Cop charged for breaching curfew
Published:Friday | May 1, 2020 | 12:30 AM
A justice of the peace (JP), who is also a cop, is to face the Parish Court and possible disciplinary actions within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for alleged breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act recently.
This reportedly follows a raid on premises in the hills of Mount Pleasant, St Andrew, after nightly curfew hours began at 6 o’clock on April 25.
A team led by a police superintendent reportedly swooped down on premises owned and operated by Leroy Anthony Bennett, a district constable with the Constant Spring police.
Information reaching The Gleaner is that Bennett was with others at his gambling house located at his residence. The other participants fled when the cops arrived.
“They ran, leaving the money. When the count was tallied, it was a little over $20,000 that was seized. These people were warned about breaking the curfew,” a police source said.
A date for the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court is to be decided soon.
The Gleaner understands that “internal” actions could be brought against the district constable.
A quantity of marijuana was also seized in the operation in Mount Pleasant.
Repeated attempts to speak with Bennett proved unsuccessful as calls to his cellular phone went to voicemail recordings.
The nightly curfew, which is due to expire on May 31, is part of measures by the Holness administration to disrupt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Manchester Parish Court recently ruled in favour of the State in the case of a man who disobeyed police instructions to return home after he was found in a public place outside the hours of the nightly COVID-19 curfew.
Ainsley Young was fined $100,000 or three months’ imprisonment for breaching the curfew order, the police reported.