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Bubba, politics and the barrel of the gun
Jamaica's Most Notorious
BY KARYL WALKER Sunday Observer staff reporter
walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, February 24, 2008
This series of articles is not intended to lionise or glorify the acts of criminals but to put a historical perspective on criminality in Jamaica, with the hope of shedding light on why the country is now teetering on the edge of lawlessness. Of significant note, as well, is the fact that the subjects of these stories die violently and very young.
THE old capital of Spanish Town has long been a powder keg of political violence and has also been described by police as the extortion capital of Jamaica.
The corrupt garrison-style politics of the 1970s, which saw political goons chasing away many of the original inhabitants of Tavares Gardens (Payne Land), Wilton Gardens (Rema) and Trench Town, resulted in a mass exodus to Spanish Town, Wynter's Pen, Central Village and other neighbouring communities.
Bitter at the People's National Party (PNP) for chasing them out of their homes, the displaced residents maintained a fervent loyalty to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which was in opposition at the time.
The mass movement of labourites brought to St Catherine an untapped resource from which political representatives could draw from to use as cannon fodder.
Since the 1980 general election when the JLP's Granville Williams wrested control of the South Central St Catherine constituency from the PNP's Derrick Heaven - beating him by almost three votes to one - a JLP member of parliament has always been victorious in the political constituency which envelopes Spanish Town.
But Spanish Town was the domain of the PNP in the 1970s, and has always had its fair share of loyal pockets of supporters.
Like other politically charged communities, the young men from rival communities formed gangs and defended their political turf. But as time passed and the role of the politician became less important, these heavily armed gangs would soon consolidate their bases and expand their criminal enterprises.
The gangs aligned to the PNP came under one umbrella after ambitious political enforcer Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett used brutality to appoint himself boss of the Clansman gang.
While the Clansman gang had been in existence for a number of years, it would not be until Oliver "Bubba' Smith was deported from New York that a move would be made to bring all JLP-aligned gangs under 'one order'.
Bubba grew up in Tawes Pen and rose to prominence after the demise of a Tawes Pen strongman known as 'Milo', who police say was killed by his cronies.
After a series of shootings and participation in other violent acts, Bubba grew from strength to strength in the world of crime. He became head of a Tawes Pen-based gang despite the presence of senior bad men known as, 'Pum-Pum Mouth' and 'Jackie', who police say ran an extortion racket from Linstead to Spanish Town.
Jackie was killed by police during a shoot-out at St John's Road in 1998.
But as Bubba's reputation in the criminal underworld grew so did the police file on him. In January 1994 Bubba fled the island and absconded bail while facing a charge of shooting with intent.
Bubba entered the US at San Antonio in Texas and made his way east to New York where he had connections. He was soon convicted for a drug-related crime and served several months before being deported on his release. He was one of more than 1,500 persons who were forcibly ejected from the United States in 2002.
Despite being a wanted man, Bubba arrived in the island, evaded the police radar and set about building a criminal empire which would be known as the One Order gang.
Upon Bubba's arrival he noticed that the gangs based in communities loyal to the JLP were at each other's throats and 'were not acting as family'.
Bubba then set about bringing all the JLP-aligned gangs in Spanish Town and its environs under One Order. Any resistance to his attempts to build the criminal network was harshly dealt with as the community of Job's Lane would soon discover.
Police say they suspect Bubba's involvement in the killing of five persons and injury of several others in a drive-by in the area. Police linked the shooting to Job's Lane's attempt to thwart the designs of the One Order.
After Bubba's ambition was realised and almost all the gangs submitted to his edict, he turned his attention to the multimillion dollar extortion racket which was being run by the Bulbie-led Clansman gang.
The move did not go down well with the Clansman gang, and a bloody battle erupted in the old capital which saw hundreds of persons from both sides of the conflict losing their lives.
The war took on a more feverish tone after the local government elections of 2003 when the JLP won. Police at the time reported that the One Order Gang wanted to take over the extortion rights for the Spanish Municipal bus terminus as the JLP was now responsible for the running of the transport facility.
The result was bloodshed and mayhem as armed gunmen invaded the bus park and fired recklessly. In one attack several persons were wounded and at least one man killed. The police blamed the Bubba-led One Order gang for that attack on the bus park.
As the war between the One Order and Clansman gangs raged, the law-abiding citizens in Spanish Town cowered in fear and businesses regularly drew down their shutters.
The constant bloodletting forced then police commissioner, Francis Forbes to establish an impromptu police post at the bus park and a strong detachment of police and soldiers were deployed to the area. The move, however, did little to bring the marauding gunmen under control and the killings continued unabated.
Police blotters indicate that more than 300 murders were committed during the One Order-Clansman gang war.
But on the night of Monday July 12, 2004, Oliver 'Bubba' Smith would reach the end of the road.
Smith was trailed to Festival Road in St Andrew and shot twice in the abdomen, the neck and forehead. Police say they found four .762 spent shells, the type used in a AK47 assault rifle, in the area. Police say two car loads of men trailed him to the area and carried out the murder.
Several theories were put forward as to the motive behind Smith's death. Police say he was killed by his cronies who thought he had lied about the amount of money acquired from a robbery in St Catherine days before.
Smith reportedly told his cronies the take was $500,000 but police had released information that $3 million was robbed. Others say Smith was killed by members of the Clansman gang, while others say Smith was killed by a vigilante cop.
As news of his murder spread his cronies staged a series of fiery demonstrations in Spanish Town and shut down normal activities in the town for days. A number of persons were fatally shot by the police in the rioting.
Police then seized 800 rounds of ammunition at a residence in the upscale community of Smokeyvale in St Andrew where Smith had rented a house.
A Honda motor car which was inked to member of parliament, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange raised further eyebrows and led to Grange being questioned at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel by top sleuths from the constabulary about her involvement with a known criminal.
In her defence, Grange denied knowing Smith and said she stood as guarantor for constituency worker, Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope, who would eventually inherit the leadership of the gang before being killed months later.
Bubba's funeral cost more than $500,000. He was interred at the Dovecot Memorial Park and was 36 at the time of his death.
Jamaica's Most Notorious
BY KARYL WALKER Sunday Observer staff reporter
walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, February 24, 2008
This series of articles is not intended to lionise or glorify the acts of criminals but to put a historical perspective on criminality in Jamaica, with the hope of shedding light on why the country is now teetering on the edge of lawlessness. Of significant note, as well, is the fact that the subjects of these stories die violently and very young.
THE old capital of Spanish Town has long been a powder keg of political violence and has also been described by police as the extortion capital of Jamaica.
The corrupt garrison-style politics of the 1970s, which saw political goons chasing away many of the original inhabitants of Tavares Gardens (Payne Land), Wilton Gardens (Rema) and Trench Town, resulted in a mass exodus to Spanish Town, Wynter's Pen, Central Village and other neighbouring communities.
Bitter at the People's National Party (PNP) for chasing them out of their homes, the displaced residents maintained a fervent loyalty to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which was in opposition at the time.
The mass movement of labourites brought to St Catherine an untapped resource from which political representatives could draw from to use as cannon fodder.
Since the 1980 general election when the JLP's Granville Williams wrested control of the South Central St Catherine constituency from the PNP's Derrick Heaven - beating him by almost three votes to one - a JLP member of parliament has always been victorious in the political constituency which envelopes Spanish Town.
But Spanish Town was the domain of the PNP in the 1970s, and has always had its fair share of loyal pockets of supporters.
Like other politically charged communities, the young men from rival communities formed gangs and defended their political turf. But as time passed and the role of the politician became less important, these heavily armed gangs would soon consolidate their bases and expand their criminal enterprises.
The gangs aligned to the PNP came under one umbrella after ambitious political enforcer Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett used brutality to appoint himself boss of the Clansman gang.
While the Clansman gang had been in existence for a number of years, it would not be until Oliver "Bubba' Smith was deported from New York that a move would be made to bring all JLP-aligned gangs under 'one order'.
Bubba grew up in Tawes Pen and rose to prominence after the demise of a Tawes Pen strongman known as 'Milo', who police say was killed by his cronies.
After a series of shootings and participation in other violent acts, Bubba grew from strength to strength in the world of crime. He became head of a Tawes Pen-based gang despite the presence of senior bad men known as, 'Pum-Pum Mouth' and 'Jackie', who police say ran an extortion racket from Linstead to Spanish Town.
Jackie was killed by police during a shoot-out at St John's Road in 1998.
But as Bubba's reputation in the criminal underworld grew so did the police file on him. In January 1994 Bubba fled the island and absconded bail while facing a charge of shooting with intent.
Bubba entered the US at San Antonio in Texas and made his way east to New York where he had connections. He was soon convicted for a drug-related crime and served several months before being deported on his release. He was one of more than 1,500 persons who were forcibly ejected from the United States in 2002.
Despite being a wanted man, Bubba arrived in the island, evaded the police radar and set about building a criminal empire which would be known as the One Order gang.
Upon Bubba's arrival he noticed that the gangs based in communities loyal to the JLP were at each other's throats and 'were not acting as family'.
Bubba then set about bringing all the JLP-aligned gangs in Spanish Town and its environs under One Order. Any resistance to his attempts to build the criminal network was harshly dealt with as the community of Job's Lane would soon discover.
Police say they suspect Bubba's involvement in the killing of five persons and injury of several others in a drive-by in the area. Police linked the shooting to Job's Lane's attempt to thwart the designs of the One Order.
After Bubba's ambition was realised and almost all the gangs submitted to his edict, he turned his attention to the multimillion dollar extortion racket which was being run by the Bulbie-led Clansman gang.
The move did not go down well with the Clansman gang, and a bloody battle erupted in the old capital which saw hundreds of persons from both sides of the conflict losing their lives.
The war took on a more feverish tone after the local government elections of 2003 when the JLP won. Police at the time reported that the One Order Gang wanted to take over the extortion rights for the Spanish Municipal bus terminus as the JLP was now responsible for the running of the transport facility.
The result was bloodshed and mayhem as armed gunmen invaded the bus park and fired recklessly. In one attack several persons were wounded and at least one man killed. The police blamed the Bubba-led One Order gang for that attack on the bus park.
As the war between the One Order and Clansman gangs raged, the law-abiding citizens in Spanish Town cowered in fear and businesses regularly drew down their shutters.
The constant bloodletting forced then police commissioner, Francis Forbes to establish an impromptu police post at the bus park and a strong detachment of police and soldiers were deployed to the area. The move, however, did little to bring the marauding gunmen under control and the killings continued unabated.
Police blotters indicate that more than 300 murders were committed during the One Order-Clansman gang war.
But on the night of Monday July 12, 2004, Oliver 'Bubba' Smith would reach the end of the road.
Smith was trailed to Festival Road in St Andrew and shot twice in the abdomen, the neck and forehead. Police say they found four .762 spent shells, the type used in a AK47 assault rifle, in the area. Police say two car loads of men trailed him to the area and carried out the murder.
Several theories were put forward as to the motive behind Smith's death. Police say he was killed by his cronies who thought he had lied about the amount of money acquired from a robbery in St Catherine days before.
Smith reportedly told his cronies the take was $500,000 but police had released information that $3 million was robbed. Others say Smith was killed by members of the Clansman gang, while others say Smith was killed by a vigilante cop.
As news of his murder spread his cronies staged a series of fiery demonstrations in Spanish Town and shut down normal activities in the town for days. A number of persons were fatally shot by the police in the rioting.
Police then seized 800 rounds of ammunition at a residence in the upscale community of Smokeyvale in St Andrew where Smith had rented a house.
A Honda motor car which was inked to member of parliament, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange raised further eyebrows and led to Grange being questioned at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel by top sleuths from the constabulary about her involvement with a known criminal.
In her defence, Grange denied knowing Smith and said she stood as guarantor for constituency worker, Andrew 'Bun Man' Hope, who would eventually inherit the leadership of the gang before being killed months later.
Bubba's funeral cost more than $500,000. He was interred at the Dovecot Memorial Park and was 36 at the time of his death.
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