(Jamaica Gleaner) Some say he was a good man who turned bad after he killed a man who was accused of murdering a member of his family. However, for the Trelawny police, Cassell ‘Boysie’, Robinson was a merciless gangster, who killed with impunity.
Robinson, Trelawny’s most-wanted man for several years, was killed in a confrontation with personnel from the Mobile Reserve, the Flying Squad, the Trelawny police and members of the Jamaica Defence Force in the Race Course area, in Falmouth, early yesterday morning.
“When I heard the news (the death of Robinson), all I could say was thank you Jesus … what a relief,” said Senior Superintendent Linette Williams-Martin, the former commanding officer for the Trelawny Police Division. “For years, he has been giving us a lot of problems, running up our crime stats … this is a clear message that time longer than rope.”
While the police have not given a blow-by-blow account of the incident, residents of the Race Course area told The Gleaner that they were awoken by a low-flying helicopter, speeding police vehicles and then gunshots.
“When I heard the helicopter flying low overhead, I suspected that something was wrong,” said Janet Simpson, a resident of Falmouth. “I definitely knew something was wrong when I heard the gunshots.”
Robinson, the alleged leader of the Boysie gang, a brazen group of young gangsters, was reportedly wanted for murder, shooting, illegal possession of firearm and drug smuggling, among other crimes.
“Within recent times, he (Robinson) had stepped up his game,” a lawman told The Gleaner. “We believe he was operating as a hit man and was also establishing himself in the drug trade.”
Guns, ammunition, cocaine retrieved
When the smoke cleared following yesterday’s incident, the police reportedly retrieved three Glock pistols, 163 rounds of assorted ammunition and two kilograms of cocaine at the premises where the confrontation took place.
A Falmouth resident, who told The Gleaner that she only saw Robinson once in her life, said on that occasion the alleged gangster left an indelible mark on her.
“One Friday afternoon I was walking home when this man rode up on a bicycle, pulled out a gun and shot a man in his head, killing him on the spot,” the young woman recalled. “I later learnt that the man, who calmly rode off after the shooting, was the wanted man Boysie.”
