JUNCTION, St Elizabeth, Jamaica – A man wanted by police for offenses including rape from more than a decade ago in Hanover, was fatally shot near Junction on Wednesday night after he had eluded local law enforcement by moving to the United States.
Vernon Shearer, 46, a resident of Mays Landing, New Jersey, was listed among Hanover’s 10 most wanted individuals. According to Head of the Hanover police, Superintendent Ian Mowatt, Shearer, also known as Vandam, was wanted for abduction, rape, illegal possession of a firearm, and assault at common-law.
Police reports indicated that Shearer was being sought in connection with the abduction and assault of a man and a woman on December 19, 2011. The offenses occurred at Lower Rock Spring in Hanover, with Shearer being a 34-year-old farmer and resident of Upper Rock Spring in Hanover at the time.
Although he had been listed as wanted at least three times between 2020 and 2022, it is believed that Shearer fled the country and was residing in New Jersey. Reports suggest that he recently returned to the island as a visitor.
According to a police report, Shearer was inside a bar at Cheapside near Junction, St Elizabeth, when gunmen drove up in a car, shot him several times in the upper body, and also hit another man who was in a car nearby. Both injured men were taken to the hospital where Shearer was pronounced dead and the other man admitted for treatment.
In summary, Vernon Shearer, a wanted man in connection with a 2011 abduction and assault case in Hanover, was fatally shot near Junction, St Elizabeth, on Wednesday night. The police had sought Shearer in connection with offenses including rape and illegal possession of a firearm. Another man was also injured in the shooting and is receiving treatment.