13 Jan 06 A MASSIVE police operation in the Vietnam area of Grants Pen, St. Andrew, left one suspect shot dead and residents alleging murder and a cover-up. The police arrested a total of 13 suspects in the wee hours of yesterday morning in relation to a string of robberies and murders, including the killing of Jamaica AIDS Support (JAS) activist Steve Harvey in November and financial analyst Jamie Lue in December, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields, told The Gleaner.

Two men, 27-year-old Phillip 'Blacks' Williams and Rodney Lee, were charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

Cellular phones and other items were also recovered in the 4:00 a.m. operation that involved over 100 members of the Flying Squad, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and members of the Mobile Reserve, DCP Shields said. The 13 men and women, part of what DCP Shields called a 'loose-knit' gang, accounted for all of the suspects in the  investigation.

SHOT AS HE HID

Residents claim that the dead man, who they identified as Ricardo 'Briggy' Morris, was shot as he hid under his bed at his home along Grants Pen Drive at 7:10 a.m. Responding to the allegations, DCP Shields said: "I do not know the circumstances and I really can't comment on allegations by the public. And it would be totally inappropriate for me to do so since it is now the subject of a separate investigation by the Bureau of Special Investigations."

Mr. Harvey was allegedly robbed and abducted from his home and then found shot dead on November 30, which gay activists claim was committed because of his sexuality. Mr. Lue was found shot dead in his Honda CRV motor vehicle on December 31; a $1 million bounty has since been offered for information leading to the arrest of his killers.

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