Police hunt man after gun seized during operation in Pleasant Valley, St Andrew

Police in the St Andrew North Division are searching for a man who ran from a mid-morning operation at his home in Pleasant Valley, Red Hills, leaving behind an illegal gun and ammunition.

Being sought is 48-year-old technician Orlando Oneil Reid.

Reports are that a police team went to his premises on Thursday morning and began a search of the property in his presence.

During the operation, the police say Reid fled the location and managed to escape.

During a further search, the police say they uncovered a nine millimetre pistol along with a magazine containing four rounds of ammunition.

The firearm was seized and taken to the Red Hills Police Station as part of ongoing investigations.

Detectives attached to the Red Hills Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) have since launched a manhunt for Reid.

He is being urged to turn himself in immediately at the Constant Spring Police Station or any other police station.

The latest seizure comes amid continued anti-crime gains in the St Andrew North Division, which remains the only one of the island’s 19 policing divisions without a recorded murder since the start of the year.

As at April 1, the division had gone 122 consecutive days without a murder, a period stretching from December 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, marking four straight months without a homicide.

The management of the division says the milestone reflects more than statistical progress, pointing to the lives saved, families spared from tragedy, and greater opportunities for community stability and national development.

Since the start of 2026, the division has recorded more than a 75 per cent reduction in Category One crimes, with house break-ins down by approximately 80 per cent and a notable decline in the larceny of motor vehicles.

Investigators have also reported a 600 per cent clear-up rate in murder cases, alongside a clearance rate exceeding 70 per cent for Category One offences.

The seizure of the illegal firearm, the first recorded for the month of April, brings to six the number of guns recovered in the division since the start of the year, as police maintain pressure on criminal elements operating within the area.

Authorities say efforts are continuing to locate Reid as they urge members of the public with information to assist in his capture.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is being asked to call 119, 876-924-1421 or Crime Stop at 311.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com