Security forces vow to keep the peace in Spanish Town
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
THE police and the military were out in large numbers in Spanish Town yesterday and promised to remain there today to prevent further unrest in the old capital, as the reputed leader of the Klansman gang, Tesha Miller, remains in police custody for another day.
MILLER. to know Thursday if he will be granted bail
On Saturday, a day after the arrest of the reputed gang leader, activities in Spanish Town came to a halt as members of the notorious Klansman gang, protesting Miller's arrest, set up burning roadblocks in several sections of the town and ordered businesses to close.
Yesterday, the police vowed that normal commercial activities must be allowed to continue in Spanish Town and warned that they would be employing a zero-tolerance approach, and would come down hard on anyone caught setting up roadblocks.
"We are here on the ground in the community and we will not be tolerating any planned protest from the residents here," Deputy Superintendent Anthony Castelle told the Observer last night.
"This is something that we will not be tolerating again; the police in Spanish Town are here along with members of the military and other officers from other divisions and we are keenly monitoring the area," added Castelle.
Miller was arrested on Friday when the police went to his home during curfew hours imposed by the court, but found he was not there. He was arrested for violating his bail conditions. When last granted bail, Miller was ordered to stay at home between the hours of 6:00 pm and 6:00 am each day.
He appeared in the Gun Court section of the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court yesterday, where he was remanded until Thursday, when the court is to rule on whether or not his bail should be revoked.
The prosecution told Resident Magistrate Valerie Edwards that given Miller's history of disobeying his bail conditions, his $300,000 bond should be revoked.
Miller's attorney, Everton Bird, argued that his client was taken into custody by the police on July 4 after going to the Spanish Town Police Station to report, as part of his current bail conditions. He said Miller was informed that he was being sought by police officers from the St Catherine South Police Division, and was arrested. Bird said his client was taken to the St Catherine South divisional headquarters in Greater Portmore, and then to the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston.
Miller has been charged with the April 7, 2004 murder of Robert Haughton, as well a triple murder on January 14, 2005 on Cresser Lane in Braeton, St Catherine.
Meanwhile, police were yesterday still trying to determine how a cellular telephone, which they said was found concealed in Miller's rectum, a telephone charger and petroleum jelly got into Miller's cell on Monday. The contraband was allegedly found when police searched the cell.