MURDER OF SPANISH TOWN CRIMINAL LEADER AGAIN CALLS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 000318

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT),INL/LP (BOZZOLO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM SNAR JM
SUBJECT: MURDER OF SPANISH TOWN CRIMINAL LEADER AGAIN CALLS
ATTENTION TO HIS LINKS TO JLP MP

REF: A. HENDERSON/BENT 2/13 E-MAIL


B. 04 KINGSTON 01956

Classified By: A/DCM Ronald S. Robinson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The February 8 murder of Andrew "Bun Man" Hope, the
leader of Spanish Town's One Order gang, while Hope sat in a
vehicle registered to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of
Parliament Olivia "Babsy" Grange, again drew attention to the
deceased man's ties to Grange. Witnesses alleged that it was
a JCF officer who shot Hope and would not permit officers to
remove his body from the vehicle. The JCF had to call in
reinforcements to restrain angry residents and to secure the
crime scene for investigation. Gang supporters torched the
old courthouse, burned cars and mounted roadblocks. A
probation office was firebombed causing extensive damage to
the building and cars parked on the compound. Government
offices and schools were closed and bus services were
terminated for two days following the uprising. Police
contacts stated that Hope was parked in Grange's vehicle in
Spanish Town when several men dressed in khakis, alighted
from another vehicle, and shot him eleven times. The police
theorize that the assailants were members of the rival
People's National Party (PNP) affiliated "Klansmen" gang.


2. (C) The murder of "Bun Man" is the second killing in two
years of a prominent gang leader with ties to Grange.
Ironically, in August 2004, former One Order gang Leader
Oliver "Bubba" Smith was murdered in a vehicle that was also
registered to Grange (Ref A). At that time the JCF
questioned Grange about her relationship with Smith, but
there was no formal investigation. In response to media
inquiries, Grange stated that she registered the car in her
name "to help out one of her constituents."


3. (C) During a 2003 media interview, Grange said that being
an MP and community-oriented activist required that she be in
contact with many different kinds of people, and that "I see
people as people, I hold no pretenses, and I can dine with
kings and walk with beggars. Because I am in touch with the
community, people believe that I am involved, but I am not
involved in any criminal activity." In private, however,
Grange was more forthcoming with NAS Director regarding her
relationship with Hope. Shortly after an October shooting
incident following a peace meeting between the One Order and
Klansmen gangs, Grange said she had attended the meeting and
had been accompanied in her vehicle by Hope when gunmen
opened fire on her motorcade, killing a nearby motorcyclist.
Grange matter-of-factly told NAS Director that she had known
Hope since he was a boy and that she considered herself to be
his "mentor". She repeatedly described herself as a product
of West Kingston, that she understood "the way things work"
there, and that Hope is "the least of the evils." She said
further that she did not think of Hope as a criminal. When
NAS Director pointed out that an individual who is the leader
of criminals and who directs criminal activities is himself a
criminal, Grange agreed, but seemed genuinely unable to grasp
that concept.


4. (C) Comment: Calm has since been restored to the Old
Capital, schools and businesses have reopened, and the
investigation into Hope's killing continues. Unfortunately,
incidents such as these demonstrate that the relationships
between criminals, politicians, and violence are still widely
tolerated in both the political and private sectors. It was
Grange's candor in the October discussion, not her close
association with a known criminal, that we found most
illuminating. Many Jamaican politicians continue to maintain
mutually beneficial links with such figures, but most do a
better job than Grange of maintaining a fig leaf of
deniability. End Comment.
JOHNSON