This house owned by a Farm Town businessman, which was torched yesterday by residents who were protesting against his release by the police days after he was held and questioned about the death of a member of the community.

FARM TOWN, St Ann - Residents of this small and usually quiet rural district went on a rampage yesterday, burning a house, two motor cars and two businesses - a bar and a liquor store - owned by a man who was detained by the police and later released after being questioned about the death of a member of the community.

The fuming residents, who were protesting yesterday for the third time within a week against the police's release of the man, vowed that they would continue their protests until the police reopen their investigations into the death of the member of the community.

They claimed that the police were tardy in their investigations, thus allowing the suspect to go free.
Yesterday, the Farm Town residents used motor vehicle shells, boulders and debris to block several sections of the road leading into the community, located near Discovery Bay. The blockages were later cleared with the use of a front-end loader, as members of the St Ann police kept watch.

Geoffrey Waugh, the councillor for the Dry Harbour division, of which Farm Town is a part, yesterday appealed to the residents to allow the law to take its course.

The police, in the meantime, said they were continuing their investigations into the matter.

This bar operated by the businessman, which was also set ablaze yesterday.

The saga started on February 1 with the shooting death of 31 year-old builder Ryan Whitehorn, whom the police say was gunned down by one of two men who accosted him along the Farm Town road that night.

Whitehorn was shot in the face and later died while undergoing treatment at the St Ann's Bay Hospital.

The police later held a businessman of the same community for questioning about the death of Whitehorn. However, the man's lawyer filed a writ in the St Ann's Bay Resident Magistrate's Court, forcing the police to release him, as there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Upon hearing that the man was released, the residents protested last week Thursday and again on Sunday.

The protest turned violent yesterday as rumours were spread throughout the community that the businessman was planning to leave the island.

They set fire to the man's house, his liquor store and his bar, all located in the centre of the district. They also torched two motor vehicles belonging to him. However, the frightened businessman managed to flee the area during the disturbance.

"He aroused suspicion because he and the deceased had an ongoing dispute," one resident of Farm Town claimed yesterday.

The resident alleged that Whitehorn was employed to do some work for the businessman, including the building of the bar he operated, and a wall at the front of his residence.

".A dispute arose, allegedly over non-payment of money owed to the businessman, during which it is alleged that Whitehorn was beaten, suffering a broken hand as a result," the resident said.

The police confirmed yesterday that Whitehorn had filed a report claiming that he had suffered a fractured hand as a result of the alleged beating by the businessman.

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