Motor Vehicle Fraud $1 Million Bail Granted | Jamaica News Update

[00:00:10]Good morning, my Real News Media TV family. Thank you so much for tuning in this morning for another news update for Saturday, June 20, 2026.

[00:00:22]And I'm wishing for everyone a wonderful and productive day. And in the news this morning, St. Catherine businessman gets $1 million a bail in alleged motor vehicle fraud case.

[00:00:36]A St. Catherine businessman accused of collecting millions of dollars from persons for motor vehicles that were never delivered was granted $1 million bail with a shorty when he appeared in the parish court on Friday. Akim Thomas is charged with three counts of fraudulent conversion and non-dely of service. It is been alleged that he collected approximately $60 million from three complainants as part of payments for motor vehicles. Thomas was granted bail following a successful application by his attorney Sheldon Campbell before acting senior parish court judge Janelle Nelson Gale. In seeking bail, Campbell told the court that his client was willing to make restitution to the complainant. The judge in granting bail told the accused that the bail was being approved for the sole purpose of facilitating restitution to the complainant before his next court appearance on September 29. As part of the bail conditions, the judge ordered that Thomas must report to the Spanish Town Police Station, surrender his travel documents, and be fingerprinted.

[00:01:50]A stop order was also imposed.

[00:01:53]Allegations are that in March Thomas collected money from the complainants with the promise of supplying them with motor vehicles. It is further alleged that the vehicles were not delivered by the agreed dates prompting the complainants to reported the matter to the police. Following an investigation, Thomas was arrested and subsequently charged.

[00:02:19]Four men detained homemade gun seized in Stony Hill police operation.

[00:02:26]Four men were taken into custody by the police on Thursday during an operation in Stony Hill St. Andrew. The police say a homemade firearm was recovered.

[00:02:36]According to the police, about 100 p.m.

[00:02:39]a team carried out a snap raid in the vicinity of Brooks 11 Road in Stony Hill during which the firearm was seized and the men were subsequently detained.

[00:02:50]Their identities have not yet been released. The police say the men are being questioned as investigators seek to determine ownership of the weapon and whether any charges will be laid. The incident is being investigated by the Stonehill Criminal Investigations Branch. Meanwhile, also in Stony Hill, police are seeking the public's assistance in locating Fabian Doppson, otherwise called the Tweety Bird, who is wanted for the murder of Javid Liscom, and the shooting and wounding of Liscoms father during an incident along Bordon Hill Road on February 23, 2025.

[00:03:29]Dobson is being urged to surrender to the police immediately. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to contact the Stony Hill Police Crime Stop at 311 or the nearest police station. The appeal comes as the Saint Andrew North Police Division continues to record significant reductions in major crimes. Up to June 13, the division had recorded a 71% decline in murders and an 83% reduction in shootings when compared with the corresponding period last year.

[00:04:07]24 rounds of ammunition seized by police in Spanish Town.

[00:04:14]Members of the St. Catherine North Proactive Investigation Unit on Thursday seized the 24 rounds of ammunition during an operation in the community of Waterloo in Spanish Town. The police report that about 12:45 p.m. the PIU conducted an operation in the community in search of a man. During the exercise, Lmen searched the seven premises including several dwelling houses. The team later proceeded to a section of the Rio bank in the area where a small bottle labeled oil was observed and retrieved. Further checks of the container allegedly revealed 24 rounds of ammunition concealed inside. The ammunition was seized. No arrest was made.

[00:05:04]No matcher found expert testifies in the Aadia drive case.

[00:05:11]A government ballistic expert was on Thursday grilled over the origins of three firearms examined in connection with the 2013 Aadia Drive triple fatal shooting and an addenum report later submitted in the case regarding the results of test conducted on the weapons. Under crossexamination by defense attorney Hugh Wildman, the superintendent of police, formerly attached to the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, was questioned about how the Adenom report came about and what information accompanied the firearms when they were submitted for analysis. The Aenum is a report that is done. a ballistic report in this case that speaks to additional evidence or items that have been submitted and additional examinations that were done that were not mentioned in the original certificate. The witness told the court he said the addenum involved three firearms that were later tested against the spent casings previously analyzed in his original report. However, when asked whether any of the casings could be linked to the firearms, he said, "No, sir, no match."

[00:06:27]While the man questioned whether the expert had been informed of the firearms or connection to the Acadia Drive incident or where they had originated.

[00:06:37]When the information in relation to the addenum was submitted to you, did it come with a label as to the reason for the analysis? He asked. The witness said the firearms were submitted by a representative of the Bureau of Special Investigations with information that dispended casings in the original report had not been linked to any of the firearms previously submitted and that these three firearms may have been a match. Asked whether he had been told where the firearms came from, the witness replied, "No, sir. That is not information that is normally provided to the lab. Isn't it a requirement that you know where the items are come from? Wild man pressed. The witness replied, "What we are talking about are not evidence that were recovered from a crime scene.

[00:07:29]These are firearms in the possession of members of the Jamaica Conabulary Force that are in circulation as part of any good quality assurance system. As an analyst, you try your best when possible to get concerned with information such as who had the firearm, where they are stationed, etc. because that is not material to my analysis. Wildman then asked what was so special about these that are in their denim that they had to be submitted to you. The witness said that was a question for the officer who submitted the firearms for testing. The attorney tried further to get the officer to answer, but the prosecutor Kathy Pike objected, saying the question was irrelevant. Wild Man, however, argued that the addenum contained information that was not a part of the case and was highly prejuditial. The witnesses during further cross-examination agreed that the recovery of spent casings from a scene depends on how accurately officers retrieve the items turning to gunshot residue. Wildman asked whether a person who fires a firearm would be expected to have traces of nitrate on their hands.

[00:08:44]Quite a possible, the witness replied.

[00:08:47]He also agreed that the detection of nitrate depends in part on how long after the incident the test is conducted. While the man further suggested that where a shooter is some distance from a victim, investigators would not expect to see signs of burning on the victim's body. Yes, you would not get those. The witness agreed. The trial continued on Friday with a witness facing cross-examination from defense attorney Anthia Grant who has begun questioning him about the chain of custody for exhibits attendered in the case. Sergeant Samroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and the constables of Randy Rose, Andrew Smith, and the Sheldon Richards are on trial for the murders of Ucliff Dyer, Matthew Lee, and Demar Allen, who were fatally shot along Aadia Drive in St. Andrew on January 12, 2013.

[00:09:44]The court had previously heard that the policemen reported being involved in a shootout with the men after signaling a blue Mitsubishi Outlander to stop at a vehicle checkpoint. According to the officers, the occupants exited the vehicle and opened the fire leading to an exchange of gunfire. Two illegal firearms, an Argos pistol and a submachine gun were reportedly recovered following the incident.

[00:10:20]Guys, thanks for watching. Please join us this afternoon at 2 p.m. for another news update.

[00:10:41]Heat.