Cops probe beating death of inmate at St Mary lock-up

Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-08 | Original Article

Annotto Bay, ST MARY:

 

The Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau and the Independent Commission of Investigations have launched an investigation into the death of an inmate while in custody at a police station in St Mary.

 

The deceased has been identified as 34-year-old Eraldo Francis, otherwise called ‘Nagram’, a building contractor of Tremolesworth, Highgate, in the parish.

 

Yesterday, through a release, the police indicated that the building contractor died while in custody as a result of a severe beating at the hands of other inmates on Saturday.

 

“Reports indicate that about 12:20 p.m. Saturday, Francis had a physical altercation with other inmates, “commented Superintendent Anthony Wallace, head of the St Mary Police Division.

 

“During the physical altercation he was injured. The now deceased was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The St Mary Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB) continues to investigate the matter,” Wallace added. “Francis was in custody on several charges, including murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, possession of a prohibited weapon, and the unauthorized possession of ammunition.”

 

In the meantime, Christopher Brown, member of parliament for St Mary Southeastern, also weighed in on the matter, alleging that the man was killed in an overcrowded cell at a lock-up in Annotto Bay in the parish.

 

“I am calling for an urgent and full investigation into this matter. What makes this especially troubling is the long-standing issue of overcrowding at the Annotto Bay lock-up, a concern I have raised before,” said Brown.

 

“These conditions are unsafe, unsanitary, and unacceptable. They create an environment where violence is more likely to occur, and where neither detainees nor police officers can operate safely or humanely. I am deeply concerned by the report of a fatal incident at the Annotto Bay Police Station lock-up,” he added.

 

Brown stated that his understanding was that the facility was built to accommodate 12 people, but that information he had received suggested that as many as 50 detainees are crammed into a space designed to house far less.

 

It is against this background that Brown is calling for a full and immediate investigation into the circumstance surrounding the reported death, with clear and timely communication to the public, and a clear plan from the relevant authorities in relation to the improvement of the conditions at the facility, in order to prevent further such incidents going forward.

 

gareth.davis@gleanerjm.com

 

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