Alleged Mt Salem gang leader killed in gunfight with Hanover police
by Adrian Frater/Gleaner Writer · The GleanerWestern Bureau:
A man who the St James police have labelled a high-value target and a much-feared gang leader in western Jamaica was one of three men killed in an alleged shoot-out with lawmen in Hanover late Wednesday afternoon.
The renowned gangster, who reportedly survived previous confrontations with the police, was identified as Clive ‘Greedy’ Lawson, who the police said was the leader of the Mt Salem, St James-based gang known as the Katon Lane Defence Force (KDF).
According to Superintendent of Police Carlos Russell, the operations officer for the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF’s) Area One, Lawson and three other men were travelling in a Toyota Voxy motor vehicle along the Mosquito Cove main road about 5:30 p.m. when they were signalled to stop by the police.
The men reportedly stopped but emerged from the vehicle firing shots. Following an exchange of gunfire, Lawson and two of three other men were shot and seriously injured. The fourth man reportedly escaped. Two illegal firearms were seized at the scene.
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“During a running gun battle, three of the gunmen were shot and injured and three firearms retrieved from them,” said Russell. “The three injured men were rushed to the Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover, where they were pronounced dead.”
According to reports, CCTV footage of a recent murder on Campbell’s Lane, Mt Salem, captured video footage of Lawson at the scene where 52-year-old mason Donavan ‘Pepper’ Hayles, who had gone into the area to repair a step, was shot and killed.
Within days of Hayles’ death, Lawson’s brother, identified as Obrian ‘Archie’ Lawrence, was walking along the Mt Salem main road in the vicinity of a Jamaica Defence Force post about 10:00 a.m. when armed men travelling in a white Toyota Axio motor car pulled up alongside him and opened gunfire, killing him on the spot.
Following that incident, the police branded the deceased man as a perennial troublemaker who had been on their radar in connection with shootings and other gangland activities.
“While we do not support this kind of activity by the gangsters, I can assure you that no angel died here today,” a police officer at the crime scene told The Gleaner.
While Mt Salem has been under a zone of special operations (ZOSO) since 2017, marauding gangsters have remained active in the community, with outfits like the KDF featuring prominently in numerous incidents.
It should be noted that Lawson’s father, who was a well-known and respected meat shop operator, was murdered in front of the Mt Salem main road business place one year ago in a brazen drive-by shooting.