Cops face murder charges two years after Denham Town shooting

Two police officers and a former serving member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), who was arrested last week at the Norman Manley International Airport, were on Thursday dragged before the court to answer to murder in connection with the 2023 fatal shooting of Nicholas Miller.

Constables Delano Stewart and Javaun Francis, along with former constable Odaine Williams, appeared before the Home Circuit Court after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) ruled that they should be charged following an investigation by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM).

Williams’ arrest was first reported on Tuesday byThe Gleanerafter he was apprehended at the Kingston-based airport on July 21 while attempting to board a flight.

He was subsequently taken before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on July 23 and remanded until Thursday’s appearance in the Home Circuit Court.

INDECOM said that following the DPP’s ruling, a request was made for the officers to be placed on a watch list.

The commission further disclosed that anolle prosequiwas entered and a voluntary bill of indictment preferred, facilitating the transfer of the matter from the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court to the Home Circuit Court.

On Thursday, Stewart and Francis were each granted bail in the sum of $500,000 with one to two sureties and reporting conditions. Williams was remanded.

The matter was adjourned until today.

According to INDECOM, the charges stem from the fatal shooting of Miller on Wellington Street in Denham Town, Kingston, on September 6, 2023.

The killing sparked angry protests in the west Kingston community, with residents erecting roadblocks, burning debris and demanding justice while insisting that Miller was not involved in criminal activity.

The police, however, maintained that Miller was fatally shot during an operation targeting men suspected of carrying out a robbery.

According to the police’s account at the time, the suspects abandoned a black motor car and allegedly opened fire at the pursuing police team, which returned fire.

Miller was later found suffering from gunshot wounds.

The police reported recovering the stolen items and the motor vehicle but said no firearm was found at the scene.

INDECOM launched an investigation after residents disputed the police’s version of events.

INDECOM said a file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions following its investigation, after which a ruling was returned directing that the three men be charged.

The commission said the latest charges bring to 68 the number of law enforcement personnel charged in relation to incidents investigated since January 2024.

INDECOM said that 14 of the 68 – 13 JCF members and one correctional officer – were charged this year.