JUNCTION, St. Elizabeth — A man wanted by police for offenses, including rape dating back more than a decade in Hanover, was fatally shot near here on Wednesday night after fleeing to the United States to avoid law enforcement pursuit.
The 46-year-old man, Vernon Shearer, had been listed among Hanover’s 10 most wanted individuals up to 2022. 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 sought in connection with the abduction of a man and a woman on December 19, 2011. The offenses were committed at Lower Rock Spring in Hanover.
It was revealed that Shearer had been listed as wanted at least three times between 2020 and 2022 regarding the 2011 incident. The man is known to have fled the country and resided in New Jersey, but it is believed he recently returned to the island as a visitor.
At around 9:40 pm on Wednesday, Shearer was at a bar at Cheapside near Junction, St. Elizabeth, when gunmen drove up and shot him several times in the upper body. Another man in a car nearby was also hit by a bullet as the gunmen fled the scene.
Shearer was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital, while the other man was admitted for treatment. These events mark the tragic end of a long-standing pursuit of a wanted individual with a history of serious criminal offenses.