Crime scare in Bog Walk as corpse tagged with parting shot
Published:Thursday | December 17, 2020 | 12:09 AMRasbert Turner/Gleaner Writer
The surge in violent crime plaguing the St Catherine North Police Division is having a crippling effect on business growth and heightening concern about public safety, especially in Bog Walk.
This disclosure was made by councillor Peter Abrahams of the Bog Walk division in the St Catherine Municipal Corporation.
Abrahams said that migrant criminals were creating mayhem in several communities.
“I have gone into places and observed that there are strange faces who are involved in crimes in Bog Walk,” Abrahams told The Gleaner.
“I am prepared to work with the police to help, and get rid of them.”
There have been several murders in the division in recent weeks, the most chilling being the December 7 killing of Dwayne Excell, otherwise called ‘Cello’, a 26-year-old welder of Shenton district.
Excell’s body bore multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body and head. The body was tagged with a cardboard message that read: ‘Don’t come rob and kill in High Mountain and think yuh smart’.
Abrahams expressed concern about the incidence of crime during the monthly meeting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation on Thursday, December 10.
Meanwhile, the councillor, who is a former policeman, said the actions of the hoodlums were affecting business and consumer confidence.
“Persons are afraid to leave their homes,” Abrahams lamented.
“Yesterday, a lady stopped me and said that she was fearful to walk on the streets in the division. It must be addressed.”
He implored Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott to seek dialogue with the hierarchy of the divisional police about a strategy to rein in crime during the Yuletide season.
Meanwhile, the police said that teams are on the ground, on high alert, as part of the Operation Surge Christmas security initiative.
Murders in St Catherine North have soared by almost 46 per cent to 121. That is 38 more than for the corresponding period of January-December 5 in 2019.
Shootings have also climbed to 69, approximately 35 per cent, or 18, more than was recorded for the corresponding period last year.