JAMAICAN CRIMINALS HAVE made a name for themselves locally, and are just as prominent on the international scene. Currently, overseas law enforcement authorities are seeking 18 Jamaicans for a multitude of crimes ranging from murder to abduction.
The intelligence arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Special Branch, told THE WEEKEND STAR, that this number is fairly normal for Jamaican overseas fugitives. "It sort of lessen now, because last year we held about four of them and they have since been extradited and are facing the courts in the respective countries," said a senior police officer attached to that division.
Among the internationally wanted - which includes three women - is Hopeton Eric Brown who is ranked alongside worldwide persona non grata, Osama Bin Laden. Brown, a 30-year-old Montegonian is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) infamous 10 Most Wanted List.
Brown, who is also wanted by the Montego Bay police, is being sought in the United States for his alleged involvement in drug-related activities, as well as the murder of a man and the attempted murder of a female witness in St. Paul, Minnesota in March 1997.
Locally, he is wanted in connection with two murders, which occurred in Montego Bay in January of 2001.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads directly to his arrest. There is no reward being offered for his capture locally, but the Montego Bay police told THE WEEKEND STAR, "any information that helps with his capture will be greatly appreciated."
The Special Branch officer told THE WEEKEND STAR that Brown is among the most wanted men in the second city, but was able to escape because of strong international drug connections. "Dat bredda, wanted fi so long now, but everytime wi mek a move him slip wi," he intimated.
Dangerous weapon
Also wanted on a murder charge is Antonio James. The U.S Marshals who have been searching for him since February 2001, want him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Meanwhile he also faces charges of distribution of a controlled substance, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Massachusetts.
James, who faces a life imprisonment sentence, is alleged to have stabbed to death a former girlfriend in that state in 1996.
Also being sought for murder is Neville Crossdale.
Crossdale, 27, who also goes by the alias Samad Abdul, is being sought by the U.S. Marshals in San Diego, California since December 1999 .
However, the Marshals have been searching for Ena McNeish for the past 11 years. She is wanted by the New York State Police for criminally negligent homicide and possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.
Allegations against McNeish are that she passed a tractor-trailer in a no passing zone and hit another vehicle. The driver of that vehicle died and McNeish was taken to the hospital, where a large quantity of narcotics were found strapped to her body. Despite her injuries, she escaped from the hospital and has been on the run ever since.
Meanwhile Interpol is seeking three Jamaican men on murder charges. They are Brooklyn Lue, 56; Dudley Vincent Forbes, 42 and Kushi Samuels, 27. They also want Germaine Sean Lindo, 30, on a manslaughter charge. All their offences were committed in Canada.
Drug charges
A little further east, Haydon 'Teeth' Grant, is wanted by the United Kingdom's Scotland Yard for the 1999 rape of a young girl.
He was arrested by police in Britain shortly after the attack and given bail, but later failed to turn up for court. The Scotland Yard police believe that Grant has returned to Jamaica, specifically the Mile Gully, Inglewood Districts of Manchester.
However, the bulk of Jamaican international fugitives are wanted on drug charges.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Michigan, wants Dennis Erlando Jones, 55, on charges of conspiracy to possess and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. His last known addresses locally were 23 1/2 Waltham Park Road and 11A Waterloo Road, Kingston 10.
In the state of Virginia, the DEA are searching for six Jamaican born fugitives. They are Winston Dewayne Mills, 50, who is wanted on conspiracy to possess and distribute Marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kidnapping
Wanted on charges of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise are Roland George Williams, 43 and Winston Mason, 44. while Roland Aaron Barclay, 46, and Pauline Richards, 52, are wanted on charges of Conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kgs of marijuana.
And finally, they are searching for Danavan Clayton, 33, on conspiracy to distribute and distribution of marijuana charges.
Byron Brooks, who is said to be between 31-36 years of age, is wanted by the U.S Marshals also in Virginia on a charge of possession with intent to sell Marijuana.
The final Jamaican woman on the international fugitives list is Fairlene Saynia Melville, 55. She is wanted by Interpol on a charge of abduction of a minor by a parent, for the 1997 kidnapping of her then five-year-old son, Joshua Eliakim Stanley in Toronto, Canada.
The Special Branch police officer told THE WEEKEND STAR that a major reason these fugitives are not held is because information is not always shared between law agencies. "Especially in the past, the FBI could want a man and the DEA hold him for something different, but because they did not share information with each other, the suspect did not go to the FBI. It was a similar thing with us. They could want a Jamaican man, and don't tell local police," he said.
However, things have changed. "Dem can run, but dem cannot run forever and dem always get sloppy. So police must hold dem one day," said the cop.
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