Second murder nearby as cops process crime scene
CLARENDON, Jamaica — As police processed one murder scene in Rhulespen, May Pen on Saturday night, gunshots from the adjoining community of Palmers Cross alerted them to a second fatal shooting.
In the Rhulespen incident, 31-year-old farmer Joel Bartley was killed as he cooked soup at the side of a shop. According to the police report, a man armed with a long gun entered the shop and asked to be served. He exited the shop after not getting any assistance. But he returned, this time with a man armed with a shorter gun who kicked open a zinc gate to the right side of the building and shouted, “police”.
Bartley attempted to step back into the shop and the man armed with the short gun reportedly shot him in the head, and he fell. The man armed with the long gun then shot him while he was on the ground.
The shooters left on foot.
The police were summoned and they arrived to find Bartley’s body on its side. That incident occurred about 9:40 pm.
The police say in the second shooting, which took place about 11:00 pm, Fitzroy ‘Two Pound’ Blair was on his way to his house after leaving a community bar when several loud explosions were heard. Residents later found him on Church Lane and alerted the police.
Blair, a 35-year-old mason from Ramsey Drive, Palmers Cross, was seen lying face down in a pool of blood. He was clad in a grey long-sleeve shirt and brown plaid shorts along with a pair of black and grey socks. A pair of black and white slippers, believed to be his, was seen in close proximity of the body.
Investigations continue into both killings.