Men held with guns in hotel remanded

Four of the five St James men who were arrested and charged after they were found with two illegal firearms in their room at a posh hotel on the outskirts of Montego Bay 'hip strip' were remanded in custody when they appeared in the Western Regional Gun Court last Thursday.

The accused men, who were ordered to return to court this Friday, were identified as: 20-year-old Kenrick McIntosh, 23-year-old Akeem Anthony Reid, 19-year-old Lavonta Rhoden, and 23-year-old Dermain Marlon Wood, who are all of Spring Mount addresses, also in St James.

The fifth accused, a 25-year-old man whose identity is being withheld by the police, is a prime suspect in a major shooting incident, which took place in Spring Mount in August.

He is slated to face a series of identification parades in regards to that incident.

According to reports, on the night of the men's arrest, a police team, acting on intelligence, went to a room at the Hotel Gloriana on Sunset Boulevard, where the five men were.

During a search, two firearms, a Chrome Colt 45 pistol fitted with a magazine containing 18 live rounds, and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, which was also loaded with 18 live rounds, were found.

"We have been tracking these men for quite a while and it really took some good police work to stay on their trail," an investigator told the WESTERN STAR. "It is not every day that you are going to find armed criminals in hotels."