Brit’s brother shot dead in his bed in Jamaica, charged with murder just days after his mother’s funeral

COPS in Jamaica have charged a 38-year-old man with the murder of his brother, who was shot dead while visiting from the UK.

Lemone Brown, a Manchester carpenter, is accused of shooting dead 48-year-old Michael Brown while the two were on the Caribbean island for her mother’s funeral.

3

3

The Brown brothers, who were in the process of planning their mother’s funeral, have been involved in a land dispute since 2015, police say.

Manchester Police Commander Superintendent Shane McCalla said police and members of the community had tried to settle the dispute peacefully.

“It’s really sad what happened and what’s even sadder is that the individuals, even those who died, would have been at the Mandeville Police Station where members of the community security arm and Restorative Justice would have tried to get this parties to settle their disputes over the properties,” McCalla said.

According to police reports, Brown – who went by the street name “Jimmy” – was killed around 12.20am last Thursday at an unfinished house he was building in the community, just four days after he buried his 74-year-old mother.

The 48-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the upper body.

He was taken to Mandeville Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A police report states that Brown was attacked by gunmen who opened fire on him as he entered the house he was building on the Caribbean island.

Citing “community sources,” Jamaican radio station Nationwide 90FM said Brown was embroiled in a “bitter” family dispute over several possessions his recently deceased mother left him in her will in the island nation.

The broadcaster reported that the dispute between Brown and his relatives escalated Wednesday and a heated argument ensued.

Police immediately launched an investigation into the shooting and are collecting statements.

Because the community where Brown was killed had a total of five homicides since the beginning of the year, McCalla said some of those were related to disputes.

He said: “We want people to try to find more consensual means of resolving conflicts.

“Some of the killings recorded in the parish are due to disputes and an inability to properly manage conflict and resolve disputes.”

A local resident said that there are many land and ownership disputes in Jamaica, which sometimes end tragically.

She said: “This young man came over from England to bury his mother and look after the house he was building and he will be buried himself. This is so awful and sad.

“If you come all the way here, you won’t come back. It can’t be easy.”

Brown is the second Briton to be shot dead in Jamaica this year after Sean Patterson, 33, a personal trainer from Shepherd’s Bush, west London, was found in St James’ with gunshot wounds to the torso and head in early January.

Fitz Bailey, the deputy commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary, spoke at the time of a contract killing that emanated from Great Britain.

In a video statement, Bailey said Patterson arrived in Jamaica on December 29 with another man, also from London.

The couple had spent several days in an apartment before checking into the Bogue Hill mansion on New Year’s Day.

Later that day Mr. Patterson and the man who was staying with him met a third person from Kingston and all three were staying in separate rooms in the guest house.

It was around noon the following day when Mr Patterson and the Jamaican walked to the villa’s pool deck and a “lone man in a black hoodie” was seen firing shots, Mr Bailey said.

A police spokesman confirmed that a man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his brother and will appear in court shortly.

3