Four men held by cops in raid

The St Andrew North police carried out an early morning operation yesterday in Plum Lane off Whitehall Avenue in response to recent violence in sections of the community.

It is reported that about 5 a.m. on Wednesday, an army of police vehicles flooded the community, and after about four hours within the space, four men were detained.

"We had an operation in the space this morning. And it's of course in furtherance of our investigations into the occurrences there last month ... primarily the double beheadings. This is to deter the occurrences of crime in the space and to give the good, decent law-abiding citizens, who may be worried or troubled, some measure of reassurance from the police," Superintendent Aaron Fletcher, commanding officer for the St Andrew North Police Division told THE STAR.

"That was really the motivating or the driving force. We have to go in and get some of the guys who we believe may have been facilitators or perpetrators of the crimes."

Headless bodies

On October 16, two headless bodies were discovered, riddled with gunshot wounds in Plum Lane. The bodies were found by residents, who later alerted the police.

Four days later, investigators from the Criminal Investigation Branch identified the two men, Mark 'Blackie' Wellington and Leonardo 'Platty' Hendricks, both of Maxfield Avenue addresses. It is believed that they were killed in connection with ongoing gang violence in a section of Maxfield Avenue called Rome.

As of November 14, 2020, 62 shootings were recorded within St Andrew North. This is an increase of 32 per cent over the corresponding period last year. However, murders have been reduced by eight per cent, with 57 recorded thus far. Meanwhile, Fletcher said it is too early to say whether the four detainees from yesterday's operation are wanted.

"We would have to make some deeper checks to establish identity. Sometimes you have persons who are engaged in activities, you have statements and reports, but maybe not the ability to identify upon view," he said. "What I can say though is the primary person or persons whom we would've had interest in, we would not have located. We know they are out there. We know they are moving from space to space. We will be relentless until we catch up with them. And I believe we will."

One resident told THE STAR that he supports the efforts of the police.

"This is in the best interest of the residents, but more time, a mostly innocent people get caught up in these things. Some of the innocent yutes dem always get caught in a the net. But the police doing what they have to do. I don't have a problem with it," he said.