All ‘hell’ reportedly broke loose in the Half-Way-Tree area of Kingston yesterday, after warring students from Excelsior and Ardenne high schools clashed in a violent mêlée that left several students from both institutions with stab wounds.
The principals of both schools are said to be having discussions in an attempt to defuse the situation, and a strong police presence is expected in the Half-Way Tree area this morning as part of an attempt to avert another clash between the warring students. The police are also asking teachers from both schools to come to the Half-Way Tree Transportation Centre in order to help ensure that students go directly to classes, then back home in the afternoon.
Wesley Kerr, aka Bingy, a chef from Clarkes Town District near Porus in Manchester, was chopped and stabbed to death during a fight with his cousin earlier today. The cousin, whose identity is being withheld pending further investigations, later turned himself in to the police.
According to reports, the two had a domestic dispute at about 3:45 p.m. today. The dispute evolved into a fight, and Kerr sustained several stab and chop wounds during the incident. He died on the spot.
March 9, 1948 – So serious is the water situation in the Corporate Area, that in certain areas, especially Kingston Gardens, there is no water in sewer tanks. Some homes are entirely without water. An official of the National Water Commission says the situation that arose was not due to the fact that water had been locked off. It meant that although the drought is at its height, the daily consumption had risen from about 16 or 16 1/2 million gallons a day to more than 18 million, with the result that for the first time in 15 years, there was not enough water to go around.
[It's an ironic news item from the Gleaner's archives, given the current drought conditions facing Kingston and the rest of Jamaica.]
20-year old Chase Bramwell, of a St. Johns Road address in Spanish Town, was remanded in custody when he appeared in the Spanish Town Criminal Court on charges of arson and wounding his 49-year old mother. According to reports, Bramwell chopped his mother in the forehead with a machete, causing her to be hospitalized for four days. He also allegedly burnt down her house.
The court heard evidence that on November 10, 2009, Bramwell and his sister had a dispute over the use of a cable box. The argument turned into a fight, and their mother attempted to end the brawl. Bramwell then allegedly used a machete to chop her in the forehead. She was rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital (where she spent four days undergoing treatment), and later that day Bramwell allegedly attacked his sister once again, then set fire to their mother’s house. The house and all its contents were completely destroyed by the fire.
Bramwell is scheduled to return to court on April 12 when the case will come up for mention again.
An elderly man (David Joseph) who allegedly attacked a female co-worker with a broken glass after she rebuked him for his constant sexual advances, appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.
The court heard that on the day in question, the complainant was on her way home from work, when the accused stopped her and made sexual advances and demands. He had reportedly done this on several occasions before and the complainant had refused him, and this time she rebuked him strongly. The accused allegedly got angry and picked up a bottle, which he then broke, and pressed against the complainant’s neck, causing a small cut.
The matter was reported to the police, and Joseph was arrested and charged. He is scheduled to return to court on April 19.
A student of the Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester is dead, and his teenage colleague in police custody, after he was shot and killed with an illegal gun on Thursday (March 4). According to reports, at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, both boys were in a section of Spaldings, when explosions were heard, and the teenager later found dead. The accused teenager was held by the police shortly after the incident and the gun was also seized.
It is believed that he was accidentally shot while they were exploring the gun, but the accused teenager is currently being held in police custody on suspicion of murder.
Selvin Bradley of Eltham, near Ocho Rios in St. Ann, lives in a two-bedroom house with only standard electrical appliances such as a refrigerator, fan, radio and a television set. His electricity bill from the Jamaica Public Service Co. (JPSCo.) is usually in the region of J$3000 to $6000 per month, so imagine his shock recently when JPSCo. sent him a bill for $168,251.95 (approx. US$1900).
Initially, a spokesperson for the JPSCo. had said that the customer was being billed for electricity that was not registered on the meter, or “under-registration”. Subsequent to this however, checks by JPSCo. technicians have revealed that faulty wiring at the premises led to the high meter readings. The JPSCo. said that because of the faulty wiring, there were spikes in the meter readings, even while all appliances in the house were unplugged.
Telecommunications giant Digicel has issued the following public advisory:
Digicel would like to advise its valued customers that there are currently a number of fraudulent scams being carried out which target mobile customers via text or voice calls.
These scams include asking customers to turn off their phones to facilitate a software upgrade or text messages notifying them of a 3000 Euro prize offer. None of these are legitimate Digicel promotions.
Please call 137 to verify all current legitimate Digicel promotions.
Apparently due to some skillful begging and impassioned pleas from his lawyer, taxi driver Ewart Stephenson got off lightly in the Home Circuit Court yesterday, when he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for mowing down and killing a motorcyclist while trying to elude the police. He reportedly had a car full of ganja, hence his attempts to escape the police.
The court heard evidence that Stephenson was traveling through Porus in Clarendon, and that his vehicle was full of marijuana. The police attempted to pull over his vehicle, but he continued driving. Police officers several miles down the road attempted to intercept Stephenson’s vehicle, but he managed to elude them as well. Stephenson then reportedly turned off the lights on his vehicle while driving, and later struck the motorcyclist, who died on the spot.
Following intensive investigations, Stephenson was arrested and charged a month later.
Police in the St. Thomas police division are reportedly investigating two gruesome murders, following the discovery of two human heads earlier today.
In the Red Hills area of the parish, at approximately 8 a.m. this morning, residents reportedly found the head of one Franklyn McCalla. His body was later found in the trunk of a car about five miles from where his head was found. Police reports indicate that he may have been murdered at his house in the Spring Gardens Housing Scheme.
Later that day, there was the discovery of another human head, this time in the Retreat area. Police investigations led to a shallow grave where the police suspect that the rest of the body is buried. They were awaiting the arrival of a pathologist before digging up the grave.
