Shocker as school watchman killed on the job
Shocked by the murder of the watchman who was tied up two months ago when a section of the Tacky High School, in Gayle St Mary went up in flames, residents are expressing outrage, conjecture and are linking the two events. Dead is 44-year-old Hewitt Jarrett of School Hill in Gayle. Jarrett was shot in broad day light Sunday morning, about an hour after he went to work at the school, just after 8 o’clock. Minutes before he was killed he had been given instructions by the principal about moving some chairs. Other staff were on the grounds at that time but not when Jarrett, a butcher, farmer and chef was killed. There are reports of a vehicle some say they have been able to identify but police have no reports of that. All over the small town of Gayle there is speculation not only saying the killers had come for Jarrett, who had been able to identify at least one of four men who had tied him up May 5, when the school was set on fire. At the time there was speculation about that too. At the time, Jarrett was questioned by police but details of that are not available. However, The Times was told that Jarrett had said then he could identify one of them men who was not from the area. The fire was said to be the act of armed robbers who tied up Jarrett and reportedly demanded from him the combination to a safety vault. Their demands were not met, and it is alleged that the men set fire to the administrative section of the building. It is reported that on Sunday Jarrett was shot twice; once in the head and in his chest. He was found face down in a pool of blood a room where he was sorting out chairs for an event, Sunday morning.
GAYLE POLICE
His death has once again sparked public outcry against police operations in Gayle and also the ‘informer fi dead culture’ that is now plaguing the community and the country at large. Among those openly critical was MP for West St Mary JoylanSilvera who told the Times he knew Jarrett well. He said he was upset at the number of murders in the area and St Mary generally, He said there were some 18 murders going back years that had not been solved. “I’m not a gambling man but if I were I would bet these two events (the death and the school fire) are connected,” he told The Times. Residents of Gayle and adjoining communities were present in droves at the school when the news of the death of the watchman broke and spread quickly, Sunday. They were seen milling around and having discussion in groups. The atmosphere was one of gloom and grief, shock and disbelief. The discussions they were having were centered around the number of unsolved murders in the area. “We tired a this man…none a the murders dem not solving and even now mi afraid,” a female resident said.
PRINCIPAL’S PRAISE
Principal of the institution, Errol Bascoe told The Times that he was at the institution earlier in the morning and had discussions with Jarrett and other members of staff who were there. He also said that he instructed Jarrett to sort out some chairs for an event that was going to be held on the same day at another location. He said that shortly after he left, he got the news that Jarrett was murdered. He described Jarrett as an easy going person and also said that he wasn’t a man of questionable character and also said that he had told the police that he didn’t believe Jarrett wasn’t in anyway a part of the plans to raze the school. “I told them (the police) that he was a person that could be highly recommended,” the principal said. Bascoe also said that Jarrett’s murder would now drive fear into the teachers and staff at the institution who were going through a hard period already, with the burning of the school. He also said that he could not speak to the notion that the fire incident and Jarrett’s death were linked. Jartrett’s co-workers who were at the scene of the incident on Sunday all expressed a deeper fear of working at Tacky High School and some said that they saw it as a direct attack on the school family. “Everybody is in fear of their lives…the school burn and now this,” one staff member said. Other staff members stated that they would not show up of work the following week saying that “the murder and the fire is a lot to bear.” On Sunday, the grief and gloom of the family were evident.
One of Ms Jarrett’s daughters said that she had a good discussion with her father hours before he was murdered. She said that they were discussing plans for her to resume her education and that they would have sorted out the necessary documents to do so. She told The Times her fatherwas a “genuine person who always make people happy. “Him always push people to do good,” she said.
She said that Jarrett worked from 3p.m. to midnight Saturday and came home at 1 p.m. She said that in the morning he asked for his dinner and left about 7:30 a.m. he was to work from 8-4 on Sunday. When members of staff were asked if Jarrett expressed any fear about returning to work following the night when he was tied up, they said that he never did but they believe he was worrying as, in their best estimation, Jarrett lost weight following the incident. Family members too said that he never expressed any fear and if he was fearful, he wouldn’t have returned to work. However, one of his daughters told The Times that Jarrett “never had a good feeling about going back to work.” One of his brothers, Lenworth Garvey said Jarrett did not express any fear of going to work. He made a connection between Jarrett’s death and the earlier event when the school building was torched. Garvey said his pain is severe as his own father was murdered in his hardware store just months ago. That murder has not been solved either Jarrett was a past student of the school which he worked and has been there for seven years in the capacity of a relief watchman. He was highly praised for his work ethics and friendly attitude. He had several children.
