Contract killer found guilty in execution of hardware sales rep
Published:Tuesday | June 24, 2025 | 12:11 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
A contract killer has been convicted for the execution-style murder of a man who was reportedly labelled an “informa” after allegedly alerting his employers to a fraudulent scheme that was siphoning millions of dollars from their Manchester-based hardware business.
Jevaughn Whyne, 33, was found guilty of murder and illegal possession of firearm after a near two-week trial that ended last Friday in the Trelawny Circuit Court.
The unanimous verdict came in the Duncans Courthouse after a second round of deliberations by the seven-member jury that lasted 30 minutes. The first round of deliberations, which lasted one hour and 48 minutes, ended with a 4-3 majority decision.
Under Jamaica’s Jury Act, jurors must deliberate for at least two hours before a majority decision can be accepted by a judge in non-capital murder cases.
The victim, Dishion Thompson, 25, a sales representative, was shot three times, including once in the back of the head, as he and other patrons lie face down on the floor of a bar in the quiet rural community of Silent Hill in Christiana, Manchester, on March 5, 2022.
Prosecutors Natallie Malcolm, a deputy director of public prosecutions, and Debra Bryan, an assistant director of public prosecutions, led evidence that Whyne entered the bar and ordered a cigarette.
After smoking the cigarette, he pulled a firearm and ordered all the patrons to lie face down before standing between Thompson’s legs and opening fire at close range. He escaped in a waiting car, according to the evidence.
No other patron was injured and the bar was not robbed. The main witness for the prosecution was one of the patrons, who gave evidence via special measures.
Murder cases involving the use of a firearm are closed to the public.
Thompson’s mother, Collette Bailey, said the conviction has restored her confidence in the police and Jamaica’s much-maligned justice system.
If it were up to her, she said Whyne, a suspected member of the Manchester-based Greenvale Gang, would have to serve a minimum of 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
His sentence hearing is set for July 3.
Bailey said she would also want answers about why he took her son’s life “and was it worth it?”
“When you were on your way from Mandeville to Silent Hill – 25 miles to kill my son – it never crossed your mind how was this going to impact the family?” she said, listing one of the questions she had for the convicted killer.
Bailey acknowledged that in the past she, too, had been critical of the justice system “even though I have not had any experience with it”.
“I’ve heard people disparage the justice system, but let me tell you something, it works. I felt like I was important to the DPP’s office,” she said, making reference to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the country’s prosecutorial authority.
“I felt like my son’s life meant something to the DPP’s office.”
Bailey singled out lead police investigator Sergeant Pat Wallace for his handling of the case.
“This man was sent from God. I felt very important to the police.”