Cruiser robbed of phone on Tom Redcom Avenue

Tuesday February 21st will not be the same for a cruiser in his early twenties as he ventured along one of the oldest pavement pounding spots for gay men or other MSM who seek sexual services via commercial sex workers male or female. The vicinity of the rear of the Edna Manley College just behind the Oxford Medical Centre building is well known for all of kinds of shenanigans and is frequented by cruisers, generations of MSM/transgender homeless & displaced & thieves who are sometimes attracted to them and who prey on them. The present Shoemaker Gully problem of guys living together in spaces was at Tom Redcom Avenue where near very week there would be a story in the tabloids be it the Star News or the now defunct XNews previously known as The Enquirer. Robberies were also a feature then to also include HIV prevention Outreach Officers for certain NGOs as victims but more for money and or other personal effects as opposed to now and the escape route was far easier through the adjacent car park as one approach the Oxford Road, Old Hope Road and Tom Redcom Avenue stop light.

Around 10 pm on Tuesday 21st the man was walking northwards on Tom Redcom Avenue where he was about to see what he could meet up on for the night, bearing in mind the recent relocation of the Shoemaker homeless MSM/transgender group alongside the female commercial sex workers as well the scattering of sorts send persons back to old spots with the pimps and robberies (sometimes being the very pimps who are often heterosexuals) the man was approached according to him by a person resembling a man who asked if he was doing business. The man responded no and continued walking (being a cruiser and not a potential commercial sex worker client) but as he continued towards the Library he was approached again by the same person, apparently the giveaway was the earplugs which in hindsight was a wrong move; as he approached the Little Theatre the robber pulled a knife and lunged forward towards the victim, this happening as traffic zipped by, the man tried to place himself in the glare of the oncoming traffic lights so as to dissuade the robber but it did not.

The man and the robber ended up in a tussle where he the robber demanded the phone with strong aggression, “gimme di bomboclaat phone pussy!” was quoted by the man according to his report. The man was subsequently relieved of his BLU smartphone and some three thousand dollars in cash. The robber made his way to the gully that runs immediately behind the Oxford Eye Clinic (Medical Centre); an old haunt as well for pimps, homeless and commercial sex workers, cruisers would normally prefer the nearby unoccupied guard house in the middle of the car park or the infamous Lignum Vitae tree by the now properly fenced school. I recall my outreach days then and admittedly hunt for some fun

He says he regrets having gone there and not being better prepared; he said he was just passing through and had not intended to make a direct visit. The man said he had gone by before but much later and not with a smartphone but switching his chip to a banger; banger phones are also robbed occasionally as well as they are used for calls possibly by accomplices and or sold to others.

It is unclear as to whether or not the robber is one of the persons who reside at the lower end of the Shoemaker Gully aka Kencot Gully which sits some fifteen minutes away from Tom Redcom Avenue, another Gully that seems to be getting some attention in terms of traffic is the one that passes into Cross Roads and that runs infront the Andrews Hospital nearing Cross Roads. The gully where the robber escaped also merges with that gully as an artery. Speculation has been rife in recent times that there is a connection to homeless gays apart from other miscreants, as robberies on that section of Old Hope Road of women mostly whose handbags are snatched or phones taken by force. Other robberies if not clashes by the opposite Union Square, the Eyeglass Centre and infront the National Council on Drug Abuse, NCDA offices are legendary for years and an unconfirmed robbery in October 2016 of another man by that area raises the level of concern.

The matter was not reported to the police as the man has decided to cut his losses, but he has lost both chips as it was a dual SIM card device with loads of numbers. Meanwhile another phone ring that was thwarted recently after a Facebook phone selling group was infiltrated by investigators are would be buyers netted an elaborate scheme spanning Kingston and St Catherine, a lesbian was set to be part of the arrangement. It was only in late December after a series of discussions a police officer encouraged persons in a private social media group of which he is apart pleaded with persons to lay off hunting for a while; the victim was not a part of that group but linked to a member, he has since joined the fray. 

Please encourage others to tread carefully with phones, avoid at all costs wearing headphones as that is a dead giveaway or at least certain types on expensive headsets or hands free devices of a certain brand such as Bose and so on. If one has to go on the road in such matters or certain parts of town carry a banger and not a smartphone and finally avoid giving away your location if one has a smartphone on their person or if not tell a close trusted friend where you will be; turn on whatever recovery assisting security features such as tracking or remote wiping of data after the phone has been stolen. Avoid fights with a would-be robber who is armed as one’s life is far more important than a replaceable device.

Cruise carefully fellas.

Peace & tolerance

H