The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING a string of hold-ups over the weekend and two more this week, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said the armed robbery trend since the beginning of the year has been “very disconcerting”.

Yesterday, he confirmed the arrest of a suspected “prolific offender”, thought to be responsible for an armed robbery in the Seabreeze area, and noted that others have recently been charged in connection with other incidents.

According to police reports, shortly before 1am yesterday, an armed man wearing a dark, hooded jacket entered and robbed a Village Road business of an undetermined amount of cash.

The gunman also robbed patrons of their cell phones before fleeing on foot into the Kemp Road area.

Around 10am on Tuesday, a man was leaving his Imperial Park home when he was approached by three armed men and robbed of a deposit bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash along with his Hyundai van.

Over the weekend police requested the public’s assistance in locating the men responsible for six separate armed robberies – the first at a home in Gardens Hills, the second at a home in the Sir Lynden Pindling Estates, the third in Hillside Estates, the fourth and fifth at a function at Montagu Beach, and the last at a Soldier Road business.

“It’s very disconcerting the number of armed robberies that we’ve been having over time, since the start of the year,” Mr Greenslade said. “Actually, we’ve seen the same thing, last year, and I’ve commented before, as I comment again, now - far too many armed robberies are occurring.

“Far too many unemployed, young adults – predominantly males – in this community are prepared to rob people for their hard earned property and they, themselves are not prepared to work. We have deployed officers to continue to seek these people out. We’ve had some successes.”

He also noted that prison release lists show “far too many” persons have been charged and have gone to prison on remand for armed robbery charges.

“We continue to offer tips to members of the public,” he said. “We ask people not to travel with lots of cash, to use your credit card as the preferred method of payment as far as possible, and not take the risk of moving around with lots of cash on you.

The commissioner also confirmed police have a man in custody for a “concerning” robbery that occurred in the Seabreeze area.

Police have appealed to any members of the public who may have any information regarding any of the incidents to contact officers immediately.