Stone Crusher Gang members nabbed in Hanover

BY HORACE HINES Sunday Observer staff reporter editorial@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, February 19, 2012

FOUR persons, including a woman, who are believed to be members of the St James based Stone Crusher Gang, remain in police custody after they were dramatically nabbed on Friday by the Hanover police.

The police also said they recovered a firearm believed to have been stolen from a policeman who was slain in Montego Bay in 2007.

According to the police, the series of events leading to the capture began just after 2:00 pm Friday when the woman and three men chartered a taxi from the Green Island taxi stand in Hanover to Lances Bay, also in the parish.

The taxi driver was allegedly held at gunpoint along the way by one of the male passengers, and forced to give up the car keys, while the other men robbed him of valuables.

Three of his assailants, including the woman, then boarded a Honda motor car, which was parked at the location. The remaining male drove off in the captured taxi.

However, the police were quickly alerted and were able to intercept the stolen motor car, arresting the driver in Lucea, Hanover.

Shortly after, police personnel spotted the Honda motor car in Sandy Bay in the parish and attempted to intercept the vehicle. However, the driver escaped the dragnet and a chase ensued. The driver of the car lost control of the vehicle, crashing it into a wall in the vicinity of Round Hill.

The three were apprehended and taken to the Noel Holmes Hospital where they were treated for minor injuries before they were jailed.

During a search of the Honda motor car, a loaded Browning 9mm pistol with the serial number erased, was found in a speaker box, the police said.

The Hanover police say three illegal guns and 25 rounds of ammunition have been seized over the past two weeks as they intensify their operations in the parish.

Six persons have been taken into custody in connection with those seizures.