Former JCF probationer killed after alleged Kingston taxi hijacking

A former Jamaica Constabulary Force probationer was fatally shot by police in Kingston on Wednesday after an alleged taxi hijacking on Camp Road. Police sources identified him as 34-year-old Shan Ribe, who they said had been dismissed before completing probation after misconduct findings said to have harmed the force’s order and reputation.

Investigators reported that about 6:20 p.m., Ribe entered a taxi travelling to downtown Kingston. When the driver stopped for a female passenger, an argument allegedly started after Ribe objected. The driver reportedly noticed a firearm, left the vehicle after putting it in neutral, and sought help from a passing police patrol. Police said Ribe then drove away, fired at officers during a chase, and later crashed into a utility pole on Camp Road. He was shot during a confrontation, and a 9mm pistol with nine rounds was recovered. INDECOM is investigating. As at June 4, the commission had recorded 140 fatal security-force shootings for 2026.

The Financial Investigations Division also charged Caribbean Maritime University employee Kevin Anthony Panton on Wednesday after a probe into alleged student-payment irregularities. Panton faces 14 counts each across offences including embezzlement, transactions involving criminal property, possession of criminal property, facilitating such transactions, falsification of accounts, and conspiracy to defraud. The case began after CMU officials reported concerns tied to November 2024 system downtime, when $970,000 was not deposited during reconciliation. The FID said later checks of manual receipts found $1,702,000 unaccounted for, with $552,500 returned or deposited and $1,149,500 still outstanding. Panton was bailed for $700,000 and is due in the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on July 6, 2026.

In St. Catherine, 36-year-old Barton Stewart was killed and three others were injured in a Wednesday night shooting on Carlet’s Road in Spanish Town. Police said gunmen attacked about 10:30 p.m.; the injured victims, including a woman, are between 21 and 28. No motive has been established.

In St. James, 27-year-old Chanoi Boxet Steven of Phoenix Road, Maroon Town, was killed by unknown attackers about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday. The division had recorded 30 murders by May 31, up from 22 for the same period last year. In Kingston, 31-year-old Constable J. Reed, attached to the Arafor fugitive apprehension team, died after falling ill at his Almond Town home and being taken to Kingston Public Hospital. Central police are investigating.