St James rocked by five murders in 48 hours

WESTERN BUREAU:

Five people were killed in the 48 hours between Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon in gun and machete attacks in St James.

Four of the five deceased men have been identified as 34-year-old Sheldon Dehaney, a businessman of Lot 587 in Westgate Hills, Montego Bay; 33-year-old Sean ‘Croc’ Porter, a bartender of St George’s Street in Cornwall Courts; 22-year-old Derrick Ellis, unemployed of Shanty Town in Norwood; and 37-year-old Jermaine ‘Pinchers’ Hood, unemployed of Pele Drive in Flankers. The unidentified male is believed to be a man of unsound mind, who frequents the streets in and around Montego Bay.

In the first of the five incidents, which occurred on Tuesday, an unidentified man was found with what appeared to be multiple chop wounds along the roadway on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard, popularly known as the ‘Hip Strip’.

On Wednesday, Porter was shot and killed by a lone gunman about 9 a.m. He was reportedly at his Cornwall Courts home with his common-law-wife when he was attacked by a gunman, who shot him several times. Later in the day, Ellis, who was sitting on the verandah at his home in Shanty Town, Norwood, was shot and killed by unknown assailants.

While the police were processing the Norwood murder scene, they received reports of a shooting in Flankers. Upon investigation, Hood’s body was found with gunshot wounds. He was reportedly standing on Pelle Drive talking on his cellular phone when a car pulled up alongside him, and its occupants opened fire, killing him on the spot.

In the fifth incident, which occurred on Thursday about 1 a.m., Dehaney and his girlfriend were alighting from his vehicle outside his house when a lone gunman attacked, shooting him multiple times. He was pronounced dead at Cornwall Regional hospital.

The spate of killings brings the parish’s murder count for the year to 33, which is 13 fewer than the 46 recorded for the corresponding period last year. The breakdown for this year shows three double-murders and 27 single murders.

Last week, assistant commissioner of police in charge of Area One, Clifford Chambers, expressed concern about the recent uptick in murders in St James after a relatively peaceful start to the year in comparison to recent years.