Double-murder rocks Montego Bay

WESTERN BUREAU:

Based on preliminary investigations, the St. James police believe that robbery and extortion were the motives for Monday’s murder of a male food vendor and an exotic dancer, whose bodies were found on a bed in a small room inside The People’s Arcade, in Montego Bay.

The deceased duo has been identified as 30-year-old Ricardo Green, a fast-food vendor of a Glendevon address, and 24-year-old Vanessa Hopkins, an exotic dancer, and vendor of a St Ann address.

Superintendent Eron Samuels, the police officer in charge of operations in St. James, said the double-killing is the latest in the ongoing surge of lawlessness, which has been a long-standing feature at the popular arcade.

“We are a bit tired as law enforcement officers with this arcade, being that it is extremely hard to police, despite all our efforts,” Samuels told The Gleaner, “We have arrested persons inside this arcade for illegal possession of firearms, we have seized illegal weapons, even this gentleman, who was killed, was arrested by members of our team last week in a targetted operation where he was found in the company of a minor.”

Howard Green, the father of the deceased man, described his son as ‘unruly’, but a dedicated father to his six children.

“Mi talk to him last night and him was supposed to come check mi. But mi never get a chance fi se him,” said the distraught father, “Him use to deh weh mi deh, but because him naw listen to mi, him did have to leave the home.”

According to one vendor at the arcade, Green and Hopkins were last seen alive about 11 p.m. on Sunday, partying at another location in Montego Bay. He said Green had over $200,000 in his possession, which he said was sent to him by his mother, who lives overseas.

“Is a good youth. Last night mi see him and the chick a floss and him a show a whole stash a money, which him seh him mother send cum give him,” said the vendor, “A nuff man warn him that him was not doing a good thing because dem have a gang a youth a carry out extortion inna the arcade. Everybody feel a dem go page him inna the night.”

People in the vicinity reportedly heard gunshots being fired inside the arcade about 2:30 a.m., but never made checks. Sometime later, a friend went to the room occupied by Green and found him and Hopkins lying face down on a bed with gunshot wounds to the back of their heads.

Green, who was clad only in his underpants, had his hands bound with an electrical cord, while Hopkins was discovered in the nude. The police were alerted, and the scene processed and the bodies were removed to the morgue. The killings bring to 56 the number of people murdered in St James since the start of the year.