Crime chief confident of solving drive-by shooting, killing

The country’s top cop said he’s confident the recent killing of 20-year- old Xavier Thomas, who was gunned down in Cedar Grove on Friday night, will be solved.
Commissioner of Police Wendel Robinson said all tips are being pursued with vigour as he expressed sympathy over the incident which has left the family in shock and pain.
“I do appreciate the concerns of residents throughout the country and in particular over the most recent murder. I cannot overemphasize how painful it must have been for the young lady to lose her life in that gruesome manner at such a tender age. That investigation is swiftly being pursued with all our resources and I am confident that that murder would be solved,” he said.
Thomas and her two cousins Lorne “TI” Nicholas, 49, and Sean Matthew, 32, were outside a village shop in Cedar Grove around 9:05 pm Friday when a car drove by and its occupants opened fire on the group standing and sitting on the side of the road.
The three relatives were shot and rushed to hospital. Thomas died about two hours later while the men were treated and remain hospitalised. Two men have since been detained for questioning. This incident comes just over a month after Nicholas was arrested and charged for shooting Dorian Marshall of Donovans shortly after they left a popular pre-carnival fete on July 9.
The men in custody for killing Thomas and shooting Nicholas and Matthew are, according to police sources, close friends with Marshall and they were all recently released on bail on a joint kidnapping charge.
The commissioner, meanwhile, also responded to the National Coalition of Neighbourhood Watches which called on him to disclose what strategies are being used to fight gun crime.
He said if the police were to disclose to the public all its crime fighting strategies, it would undermine the very effort to keep the nation safe.
“The presence of the police on the streets, covert operations and intelligence led policing are all part of the mixture of strategies in place. The police need the support of the public and in some instances, we get it, but we also know that there are persons out there protecting these criminals,” he added.
The commissioner said the police are aware that certain criminals who are on bail for other serious crimes are at war with other criminals.
And he said, it is clear that street battle, rather than the justice system is their preferred method to solve conflict.