Suspect in cop’s MoBay murder nabbed in Spanish Town
Published:Wednesday | June 18, 2025 | 12:11 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Less than 24 hours after an attack along Barnett Street in Montego Bay, St James, the police have captured the suspect believed to have fatally shot a suspended police officer and made off with $3 million in cash.
The accused was apprehended in Spanish Town, St Catherine, during an operation by the St Catherine North Police.
According to police reports, around 5:54 p.m. on Monday, 37-year-old Garry Hamilton, a cop suspended from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in 2019, was gunned down while manning the entrance to Chen High Limited Supermarket on Barnett Street, where he was employed as a security guard.
Eyewitnesses say the assailant, masked and armed, approached Hamilton and opened fire, hitting him in the head, chest, and abdomen before proceeding inside the supermarket.
ROBBERY
Once inside, the gunman reportedly robbed a sales representative at gunpoint, relieving him of $3 million in cash before fleeing the scene on foot.
Hamilton, who joined the St James Division of the JCF in 2014, was suspended from the force after being charged in 2018 for operating a stolen vehicle. He was convicted in 2023 and handed a two-year suspended sentence. He died before he was officially dismissed from the force.
The swift apprehension of the suspect marks a significant breakthrough in the investigation.
Police say further details will be released as the probe continues.
Hamilton is the 24th person to be killed in St James since the start of this year. The parish has been seeing a significant reduction in major crimes this year. Over the comparative period last year, the parish registered 73 murders, alongside 65 cases of shootings. The year has seen 26 cases of shootings.