Bartenders among those held up, robbed
Four men who went on a robbery spree in Portland, holding up several people and stealing cash, liquor and phones have been slapped with several charges.
The four, only one of whom is from Portland, have been charged with robbery with aggravation, possession of a prohibited weapon, using a firearm to commit a felony, assault at common law, and receiving stolen property.
Charged are:
- 28-year-old Jermaine Phillips, otherwise called ‘Bean’ carpenter of Old Harbour Road, St. Catherine.
- 37-year-old Shamar Townsend, otherwise called ‘DJ’, Mason of Old Harbour Road, St. Catherine.
- 31-year-old Joel Reid, construction worker of Snow Hill District, Portland
- Alrick Jones otherwise called ‘Jojo’ construction worker of May Pen, Clarendon.
Police said the robberies and hold-ups took place March 5 and March 10.
Reports are that at about 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, Phillips and Townsend entered a bar and pointed a firearm at a woman. They proceeded to rob her of Five Hundred and Nine Thousand dollars (J$ 509,000) and made their escape. Following that incident, on Monday, March 6 about 11:05 p.m., two masked men armed with handguns exited a white Toyota Probox motor vehicle and ordered a female bartender, who was closing up to go back into the bar. The men robbed her of a Samsung cellular phone, assorted liquor, cigarettes, and an undetermined sum of cash, while an unarmed man robbed a bystander of his cellular phone. The men then exited the bar and made good their escape.
Subsequently, the white Toyota Probox with three men aboard was intercepted along the Caenwood main road, in the parish. One of the stolen cellular phones was found in the possession of the men. They were taken into custody.
A series of police operations followed which resulted in a quantity of liquor being recovered, the seizure of one Luger 9mm pistol with a magazine containing two 9mm cartridges and the arrest and charge of an additional man. The four men were charged on Thursday, March 16 following Identification Parades. Their court date is to be finalised.
