‘Better prison than the grave’ - Davian Bryan’s father glad he wasn’t killed in manhunt

Having watched for months as police and residents hunted for his son, Victor Bryan is breathing a sigh of relief now that his 32-year-old offspring has been taken into police custody, unharmed.

"Mi glad say him captured," the elder Bryan said yesterday, hours after Portland's most wanted and one of Jamaica's most hated men, Davian Bryan, was captured in the hills of Portland.

"It better dem carry him go a prison than citizen chop him up," said Victor, mindful that the manhunt for his son turned bloody last November, after a mob in Llandewey, St Thomas, killed a man who they thought was Davian, the fugitive.

The elder Bryan said that his daughter, Kerry-Ann, was instrumental in handing Davian over to the police. The alleged child abductor reportedly wept as he was apprehended.

"Him say him nuh sleep since October, and a long time him wah go in," said Kerry-Ann, who was on spot for the arrest.

Police said that Davian was captured shortly after 9 p.m. in the hills of Durham in the Hope Bay Valley area of the parish.

Head of the Portland police, Superintendent Kenneth Chin, said the efforts to capture Bryan "were aided through partnership with elected officials in the parish who worked with the communities in sharing intelligence with the police".

Davian was branded public enemy No. 1 after he was fingered in the abduction of nine-year-old Phylisa Prussia in Bath, St Thomas, on October 14, and 13-year-old Winshae Barrett, two days later, also in Bath. Last month, a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to show for a matter in the Portland Circuit Court on February 17 to answer to charges of rape and illegal possession of firearm, which were allegedly committed in July, 2020

Residents of Portland have linked him to at least two other incidents in the parish, one involving a woman in Durham and the other relates to a College of Agriculture, Science and Education student.

Victor Bryan said that the nature of the allegations against his son has caused him to be hanging his head in shame.

"A mi son but him meck mi feel bad. ... Mi feel bad, di man nuffi do dem deh something," he said.

The police are yet to indicate when Davian will be brought before the court.