SHELDON Lennox Walters, the gang leader known as Termite whose shooting death on Friday night by police sparked tension in Spanish Town, St Catherine, had what cops described as “a notable history within organised crime, specifically with the Klansman gang”.
Police sources told the Jamaica Observer that Walters, who had led the Top Banks gang after a split with the Klansman gang, had orchestrated at least 10 murders and several shooting incidents in St Catherine between June 2019 and March this year.
The incidents include:
* The murder of Federick Thompson, otherwise called Secilian or Macca, at Kitson Town on June 12, 2019;
* Shooting of a man on Burke Road on September 15, 2020;
* Murder of Claude Smith and shooting of a man at 1 Salt Pond Road on September 20, 2020;
* Murder/double shooting on Burke Road on October 12, 2020;
* Shooting of two people at Frazer’s Boulevard, Meadowrest Memorial Gardens, on January 17, 2021;
* Double murder/shooting at Naseberry Grove, Kitson Town on February 23, 2021;
* Murder of Andrew Burke at Banana Hole, Kitson Town, on February 25, 2021;
* The murders of Dervan Brown, also known as Adrian, and Andre Thomas, alias Tuti Pang, in 2023; and
* The shooting deaths of two men on March Pen Road on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. According to the police, members of Walters’ Top Banks gang shot the men and then disposed of their bodies on the Dunbeholden main road, where they were found by the police.
Information gathered by the police suggests that the murders were sanctioned by Walters and that the men were killed because they were from Jones Avenue, an area controlled by the Andre “Blackman” Bryan faction of the Klansman gang.
The police said that they had expected an escalation of tension in Spanish Town after Walters was killed in a confrontation with cops.
On Saturday, after Walters’ followers blocked some roads in the old capital, police reported that another Klansman gangster, Charles McDonald, alias Chups, was cut down during a violent confrontation with cops in Greendale, St Catherine. His firearm, they said, was recovered.
They also reported that McDonald, who was number three on the St Catherine North Police Division’s most wanted list, was recently freed of a murder charge at St Catherine Parish Court.
The police had also said that Walters’ death might intensify violence over extortion rackets between warring factions of the Klansman gang.
They said that although the roadblocks had been cleared on Saturday, they were alert to the potential for arson and attacks against law enforcement.
In preparation, the constabulary decided to maintain a high presence in Spanish Town for at least 72 hours, and mounted targeted operations against key instigators.
The police said that Walters, who was born on July 14, 1979, was initially aligned with Tesha Miller, known as Hombre, before shifting allegiance to Bryan during a gang split.
Both Miller and Bryan are incarcerated.
Miller has been indicted under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) (Amendment) Act, commonly called the anti-gang law, for leadership of the Klansman gang.
Bryan, who led the One Don faction of the Klansman gang, was last October sentenced to 39 and a half years for leadership of a criminal organisation, and facilitating the commission of murder and arson, after the long-running Klansman gang trial.
On Saturday the police said that Walters was implicated in gang-related activities under the Criminal Justice Suppression Act in 2017 but was acquitted in March 2021.
After his acquittal Walters distanced himself from Bryan and formed his own faction, aligning with a member of the One Order gang.
Police said he took on a leadership role and managed daily operations, including extortion and arms trafficking.
His influence spanned multiple areas, including Railway Premise, Corletts Road, March Pen, and Kitson Town.
“On April 19, 2024, Walters was reportedly involved in the distribution of firearms obtained from Ellerslie Pen, further indicating his ongoing [participation in] criminal activities,” the police sources said.
They also reported that he had aligned himself with a number of other gang leaders in St Catherine and had formed an alliance with the Genasyde gang in Parade Gardens, Kingston Central.
Before Walters’ demise the police said they had received “several intelligence reports” that he was planning to carry out attacks in Spanish Town against rivals, mainly members of the Tesha Miller-led faction of the Klansman gang. However, police activities “prevented the occurrence of these threats”.
They also reported that he had tried to migrate to the United States with the intention of leading his gang from that country, as he had thought that would be safer for him.
“He fled Jamaica in November 2023 to Panama, intending to make his way to the US via that country; however, he was deported by Panama on November 29, 2023,” the police said.
Walters reportedly married a US citizen recently.
