News

40 marked for death

THE VIGILANTE KILLING of a reputed One Order Gang member in Linstead, St. Catherine, two Sundays ago, has sparked rumours that the gang wants 40 lives in reprisal for the death of one of their own.

Residents claim that because of the death of Renford "Dicky" Smith of Hanover Street, Spanish Town, reportedly at the hands of Linstead citizens, the One Order Gang is out for blood.

Smith was reportedly stabbed and beaten to death by a group of angry citizens after conducting two petty robberies in Linstead and Ewarton.

The incident has left at least one stall owner shaken, and while Linstead police believe the so-called threats are empty, she is still concerned for her safety.

"I got a call since it happen, I don't know how that person got my number to warn me that they (One Order) want 40 lives," she said. "I am very concerned about that."

She lamented that they have always been a target by local 'coke heads' who swipe from their stall and run off but was far more concerned about this incident as he was not from the area.

Two taxi-operators told THE WEEKEEND STAR that they were aware of the threats and had heard that they would be a targeted group.

"I heard that they wanted 10 taxi men, " he said, "But I really don't know why."

The other taxi operator who plies the Bog Walk route said that he had heard things from other taxi operators as well but was unconcerned by it. "Mi just hear sey is true a man dead," he said flippantly, "But from it happen mi nuh hear nutten much about it."

Linstead police say that while they are aware of what the Linstead residents have said, they are not able to substantiate the threats. They say however that the information they received have led them to believe that Smith was in fact involved in the One Order Gang.

A senior officer stationed in Spanish Town said he was also aware of the rumours in Linstead but had not heard about the threats being circulated in Spanish Town.

Investigators say that on May 15, Smith, believed to be a drug addict, went to a woman's stall in Ewarton and ordered some liquor. However when she went to get his purchase, he swiped 15 $100 Digicel phone cards and fled. At approximately eight o'clock that morning, he was passing Fletcher's Avenue, close to the Linstead market when he stopped by a stall and ordered some food items. He reportedly pulled the same stunt and made off with two packs of cigarettes valued at $240 each.

Police report that an alarm was raised and Smith was pointed out near the NCB bank on King Street. He was confronted by an angry group, where one person was said to have stabbed him. Smith was severely beaten and taken to the Linstead Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Smith's mother, Verona Williams, 56, of Hanover Street, Spanish Town told THE WEEKEND STAR that while she knew that her son had been on drugs for the past 15 years, she neither believes he was a part of the One Order Gang nor was his death justified.

"Right now I just feel frustrated. I don't know where I am going to find money to bury him," she said with tears in her eyes.

Last November Williams had to bury another son, 36-year-old Bernard "Emmanuel" Smith, who it is also claimed was involved in the One Order Gang.

Williams laments that she could not help Renford kick the drug habit before he died. "He used to sell STAR with me and help with the higglering," Williams said of Renford, "But when he go on the drugs, I could not help him. I could not afford to get him any help."