Police Most Wanted Among Two Fatally Shot on North-South Highway

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has commenced a probe into the fatal shooting of two men on the North-South Highway in St. Ann on Saturday.

One of the men who was among two shot and killed during a confrontation with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was 42-year-old Manton ‘Banton’ Brown, who was wanted in multiple cases of murder and shooting In St Ann and St Catherine.

Reports are that shortly before 4 pm on Saturday, an intelligence-driven operation by members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) led the authorities to a section of the highway, where they accosted a white Toyota Crown motorcar.

When police approached, the men in the car immediately began firing at the lawmen and a gunfight ensued. Preliminary investigations by the INDECOM suggest that officers fired in excess of 100 rounds.

Head of the Constabulary’s Corporate Communications Unit, Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay in a release says, two of the men were shot and injured. She reported that a police officer was also injured. The injured persons were taken to the hospital in St Ann and the police officer has since been released.

A team from INDECOM has started investigations into the fatal shooting incident of Brown and 22-year-old Swayne Hall who was also in the motorcar.

The police say Brown was wanted also for the April 2017 double murder of Alaska Castello and Adrian Thompson in Gregory Park, St Catherine; as well as the murder of Clifford Gallimore o/c ‘Chucky’ or ‘King Cover’ in Browns Town, St Ann in September 2020; and the murder of Leabert Piper in Browns Town, St Ann in February 2021.

INDECOM is encouraging all who were traversing the highway and may have captured video footage and or photographs of the incident, to send them to INDECOM via WhatsApp at (876)553-5555, to assist in this ongoing investigation.

Reporter: Jhanielle Powell