REVENGE MURDER PLOT
Dismissal from US Embassy job allegedly spawns deadly conspiracy
Published:Sunday | December 18, 2022 | 2:18 AMEdmond Campbell - and Tanesha Mundle - Staff Reporters
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Local and United States detectives believe they have cracked a revenge murder plot behind the killing of two security guards attached to the US Embassy in Kingston, who were gunned down in 2019 and 2020. The alleged mastermind, Courtney Williams,...
Local and United States detectives believe they have cracked a revenge murder plot behind the killing of two security guards attached to the US Embassy in Kingston, who were gunned down in 2019 and 2020.
The alleged mastermind, Courtney Williams, an ex-security guard at the US Embassy, is currently in custody and is to return to the Home Circuit Court on January 24, 2023. He is alleged to have orchestrated the murders after he was fired from his job at the embassy over allegations of misconduct in October 2018.
A second man who was arrested, Jerome ‘Bad Bwoy’ Pryce, has since pleaded guilty to the killing of one of the guards and was sentenced last year to life imprisonment. He is to serve 18 years before parole considerations.
The victims, Devon Smikle and Leroy Jones, were murdered months apart.
Fifty-two-year-old Smikle was killed on September 12, 2019 in the Cassia Park area of St Andrew while on his way home from work.
According to reports by the Hunts Bay police, about 11 p.m., Smikle was entering his yard when he was ambushed and shot by unknown assailants. The police were summoned and upon their arrival, Smikle, who was seen suffering from gunshot wounds, was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Jones, 46, was also ambushed near his home on Central Avenue in St Andrew and shot dead on July 17, 2020. Reports are that he was walking along the roadway when he was pounced upon by two men, who opened fire, hitting him in the upper body. Jones, otherwise called ‘Tony’, died on the spot. He was also robbed of his licensed Glock pistol and an undetermined sum of cash.
The killings were believed to be unrelated at first, but the deadly plot was discovered after the embassy received a tip, triggering an intense probe by Jamaican and United Stated investigators.
Pryce and Williams were arrested in connection with Jones’ death and charged with murder, robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition.
Williams is also believed to be a suspect in Smikle’s murder.
An investigator from the Major Investigations Division, Detective Corporal Tyrone Smith, said the police are still searching for the persons involved in Smikle’s murder.
“We have good information, but we are searching for an accomplice,” he told The Sunday Gleaner on Friday.
SUSPECTED GANG LINK
According to the police, both Williams and Pryce are reportedly part of a gang with tentacles as far as the western end of the island. The gang is also linked to at least five other murders, they claim.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the depth of the revenge plot.
A release on the US State Department website said four special agents with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) uncovered “a revenge plot that involved two murders carried out by dismissed and current employees at the US Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica... . The investigation led to the arrest and charges filed against multiple individuals involved in the crimes.”
It continued, “In 2019 and 2020, two members of US Embassy Kingston’s local guard force (LGF) were murdered in what appeared to be two random killings in Jamaica.
“However, the DSS team at the embassy received a tip that the two murders were connected, which led to an in-depth investigation that revealed a revenge plot concocted by a former LGF member who had been dismissed due to criminal misconduct. The individual began a campaign to kill those he thought were responsible for his dismissal from the embassy.”
Detective Corporal Smith and four US security officers have since been awarded for their work in uncovering the deadly scheme.
In September, the corporal received a certificate of commendation from the US Department of State’s DSS.
During that same month, Supervisory Special Agent Christian Ehrhardt and Special Agents Antonio Zamudio, Courtney Glass and Val Penascino were announced as awardees of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) 2021 National Award for Investigative Excellence.
‘DANGEROUS PERSONS’
“Zamudio, Glass, and Penascino’s investigation uncovered previously unknown ties between former and current LGF members and criminals in Jamaica who were supporting the individual intent on revenge,” said the US State Department release in announcing the awards.
“As they continued to follow leads and build the case, Ehrhardt worked closely with Jamaican law enforcement and the Ministry of National Security to move the investigation forward within the Jamaica legal system. In partnership with local authorities, the months-long investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of one suspect, with another pending trial.”
In the meantime, Detective Corporal Smith, who lauded his boss, Superintendent Paul Thomas, for his assistance and guidance in the case, said he was very surprised by the award but was elated at the recognition.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all. I just got a call one day to come up to the US Embassy,” he told The Sunday Gleaner. “But, no doubt, I feel very motivated to continue my work, even though these people who are implicated in this crime are some dangerous persons.”
The corporal added that the partnership with the US investigation was a wonderful and fruitful experience.
“It was good. They were very accommodating and they were willing to learn about our system because they have a totally different system. They had a hard time comprehending our system, but they were very accommodating. They were very patient and they trusted the process,” he added.