J’can wanted in the US for setting man on fire held in dramatic capture
Published:Friday | January 17, 2025 | 12:10 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
A Jamaican fugitive and illegal immigrant, wanted for his suspected involvement in a gruesome 2019 torture and arson case in Massachusetts, was arrested yesterday in a dramatic capture at Panama City Beach, Florida.
Dushane Jerome Simon was located and arrested on Thursday on Panama City Beach by members of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) Criminal and Special Investigations Divisions, along with the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force, the sheriff’s office said.
The Gleaner understands that Simon, 26, was wanted in connection to a case in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the victim was robbed, kidnapped, tortured, and ultimately set on fire.
Simon reportedly fled Massachusetts prior to his trial for his involvement in the case.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said they were contacted on January 15 by the authorities in Massachusetts, who were willing to extradite him for these charges if the BCSO could locate him.
Surveillance began and Simon was promptly located at an apartment on Panama City Beach.
The Gleaner gathered that Simon tried to elude the authorities by jumping from a third-storey balcony as he fled on foot into a nearby wooded area. He was pursued and captured a short distance away.
Simon is currently booked as a fugitive from justice at the Bay County Jail.
A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold has also been placed on him.
The authorities say Simon does not have a valid visa to be in the US, and has a prior arrest history.
He has a final deportation order and will be deported from the country upon his release from custody.
Home invasion
Meanwhile, the authorities said Simon, who was 21 at the time of the offence, was allegedly among a group of three who committed a home invasion on Roosevelt Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 30, 2019.
Investigators say Simon was wearing a Massachusetts Probation Department GPS ankle bracelet during the attack and they believe he ran away from the area since his bracelet was later located on the side of I-495 in Eastern Massachusetts.
The police say there was marijuana being grown inside the home of the victim and police believe that was likely the reason he was targeted.
The victim sustained critical injuries after being badly burned and tortured.
The suspects also robbed cash and stole a motor vehicle during the incident.