SCORES of angry residents yesterday morning staged a protest on Spanish Town Road, in the vicinity of Delacree Park in Kingston, over the shooting death of 26-year-old Albert Roberts, allegedly by a licensed firearm holder.
According to the police, a female passenger volunteered to pay for Roberts and another man who had refused to pay when the conductor of a Coaster bus demanded their fares. The driver, who had stopped the bus on Spanish Town, continued his journey after the fares were paid.
It was alleged that Roberts and the other man, after exiting the bus at the St Joseph Road/Spanish Town Road intersection, attacked the conductor and driver with a knife and ice pick. Shots were then fired from inside the bus and Roberts was hit. Police, who were quick on the scene, took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Roberts — a construction worker — boarded the Coaster bus about 12:05 pm on Mandela Highway, near Six Miles.
Residents, however, gave a different account of the events that led to the shooting. One irate woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed with the events leading up to the bus stop where the two men exited, but alleged that it was the bus conductor who attacked Roberts when he stepped off the bus.
“When him a come out of the bus, the conductor kick him and somebody fling stone on the bus. One licensed firearm holder come out and shoot him in a him head back and go a station go report say him did a try rob the bus,” the woman claimed.
Some claimed that the man who fired the shots was an ex-policeman.
Another person who was part of the angry group alleged that it was the driver who did the shooting.
“The driver kill him, see the blood there. Work him coming from and a lunch time him come on. [He is] a good, good youth in the community. A licensed firearm man kill him for nothing at all because him no have no bus fare. Him shoot him inna him side as him come off the bus, and shoot him two times again in him head. Oh, my God, man, that is wickedness. A wickedness that man how you fi kill a man just so cause a $100; we want justice. Him dead cause him never have $100 for him bus fare,” said the woman.
Esurie Sinclair, aunt of the slain man, said: “Yesterday (Wednesday) morning when he was going away he asked me for bus fare and I gave him $500, and he went to work.”
However, she said that because of rain one day and lack of material he had not worked for two days at the construction site, so had not been paid.
If the residents ago come out and protest dem need fi get the story straight before dem a bawl bout justice…because everybody weh out deh a protest come wid a different story!
And nobody can’t come to no conclusion if di story nuh straight!
Dem seh di driver is trigger happy him love to pull the gun and him statement not right
Met every turn me turn somebody from this area a gi a different version of the story…and wid a bus full we suppose to can get a straight story by now!
Him being trigger happy is the main reason this bwoy shouldn’t go on the man bus if he doesn’t have his fare or is unwilling to pay Met. But is a thing that men like to do from long time – take people bus & don’t want to pay. This one just paid with his life.
the bwoy dem a terrorist.. gi dem self bere trouble and nuh waa pay nuh fare pan d bus dem….
that’s Spanish town road for you everyone a bad man they left them hole with no intention to pay if a ducta challenge them he is in endangering himself used to travel there daily in the 70s everyday is drama on Spanish road, its full of thieves who rob u as u come off the bus, rob u and jump off, grab u chain, grab u hat off u head, it was 4 miles them grab off my friend tam, he was getting up to…. mi no know I had to brace him in the seat and ask him weh u a go, dem would a kill him rass this was bout 11pm on payday it tun up
that’s my grandchild’s age so its the grandchild of a thief, same like how sprangler’s grand kids a warrr, ducters get killed on there for the same fares a friend a mine hav a long cut in his face that a man robbed him and cut him no fund memories of that road very dangerous I used to live in duhaney park smh the bus might belobng to the ex police who was waiting for them, the woman pay the fare to avoid all that