George Rochester, Jr.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

As the murder rate escalates, police are still clueless as to who are the ones responsible for the nation’s latest homicides in less than two days.  The first one was reported last Friday when Abayomi Olatunji, 40, a Nigerian security guard employed with JB’s Security, was discovered viciously stabbed numerous times to his face, neck, right eye and chest.  His corpse was dumped among some refuse on a narrow dirt road off the Western Highway at mile 3.

The Police investigators believe that Olatunji was murdered elsewhere and then dumped at the location.  There was no suspected murder weapon near the body and Olatunji was only later identified by friends after police described how the victim was dressed.

Other reports indicate that Olatunji, who came to Belize only five months ago, may have been robbed of a substantial amount of money that he had on him.  The money, the reports say, was to purchase a vehicle, a transaction which he had been finalizing on Thursday.

The second murder occurred in Ladville, Belize District, on Saturday night. George Rochester, Jr., stepped off a passenger bus from Belize City and went to Honey Supermarket at the junction with Egbert Quilter Street.  After making a purchase, Rochester proceeded along the street but about 100 yards from the highway his fate was sealed by five gunshots at close range.  Some say his killer had actually followed him on the bus and come off at the same spot then lurked in an overgrown open lot across from the Supermarket.

Rochester was heading to a house party that his cousin invited him to at his house on Myrtle Wade Crescent, about two blocks away from where he was gunned down.  His killer stole his cellular phone and a small knapsack that he carried. Police say eyewitnesses have reported seeing someone, presumably the killer, fleeing the scene. The fisherman by trade and father of six children had just gone to visit his father about an hour before he was killed. His father, George Rochester, Sr., had been vacationing in Belize and was to return to the US the following day. He now plans to cremate his son’s remains and take it back to the US for burial.

According to Rochester, Sr., his son had mentioned to him that he was afraid that someone would harm him.  The BELIZE TIMES understands that Rochester had been fingered in a transaction gone sour and had become the target of one of the parties of that transaction. His killer it appeared tried first to incapacitate him because two of the bullets shattered his legs. The remaining 9 mm bullets penetrated his chest and face.

Police have no clues about the suspects of these two murders and while they have detained a few persons, no concrete charges are forthcoming.

These latest murders just weeks before the Christmas season, coupled with the rising number of home invasions and armed robberies have sent Belizeans in a state of hopelessness with no chance for any improvements under this regime and it’s appointed Minister, Doug Singh.

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Sept. 28, 2011

By Roy Davis

Edward Buller, 50, who was charged with the murder of Ella May Bennett, 41, and was convicted of manslaughter on September 19, was sentenced to 16 years today by Justice Adolph Lucas.

Before he decided on the sentence, Justice Lucas heard pleas for mitigation from Buller and his attorney, Phillip Palacio. Buller expressed his sympathy for the family of the deceased and asked for leniency. Palacio said his client had no conviction prior to the one for manslaughter.

Bennett, originally from Roatan, Honduras, was killed on July 21, 2009. Two days later, her body, nude from the waist down, was found on the verandah of an abandoned concrete bungalow house at 32 Central American Boulevard. A post mortem examination on her body revealed that she died from injuries to her head and face.

Buller, in a caution statement given to the police that was admitted as evidence, said he and the deceased had an argument and a struggle over a piece of “smoke” and he pushed her and she fell on the verandah.

But Buller testified and claimed that he was home watching television the night of the incident and he went to bed around 10p.m. Crown Counsel Sharmela Williams represented the prosecution.

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Sept. 28, 2011

By Roy Davis

Clarence Grant, 28, a fisherman of Ontario Village who allegedly robbed BDF Lieutenant Zane Duhaney at gunpoint, was charged with robbery when he appeared today in the 36 Magistrate’s Court.

Grant pleaded not guilty to the charge. He claimed that at the time of the incident he and his girlfriend were detained at Belmopan Police Station for assault. But the police reported that Duhaney, in an identification parade, positively identified Grant as the culprit.

Magistrate Dorothy Flowers explained to Grant that the court cannot offer him bail because the offence was committed with a firearm. She remanded Grant into custody until October 28.

The incident occurred around 5:20 p.m. on July 29. Duhaney reported to the police that he was walking on Orange Street when he was approached by his assailant who pointed a firearm at him and marched him into Trench Alley a.k.a. “Pregnant Alley”.

Duhaney said $300 was stolen from him.

Jose Luis Xol & Crusanto Xol

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 3, 2011

Two Guatemalan illegal immigrants, Crusanto Xol, 48, and his son, Jose Luis Xol, 23, pleaded guilty to the theft of 20 sacks of oranges when they appeared yesterday in the #8 Magistrate’s Court.

They were each fined $1,000. Magistrate Emmerson Banner who ordered them to pay the fines forthwith and told them if they default on payment they will serve 1 year.

They were unable to pay the fines so they were taken to prison.

They were also charged with handling stolen goods but the charge was withdrawn after their guilty plea was accepted.

The theft occurred on Friday, July 29 at the orchard of Hummingbird Citrus Limited, the property of Ray Ogaldez.

The father and son stole the sacks of oranges, valued at $200. After the oranges were picked and bagged, they were caught with the 20 sacks.

They said they stole the sacks of oranges because they needed money to help a family member who was sick and in need of medication.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A mother is mourning the loss of her son after he was murdered while on vacation in Cotton Tree Village. Desiree Hemsley says that Thaddeus Castillo, 21, had just gone with his two younger brothers to vacation with their aunt in the village the week before he was killed.  She never imagined that sending them out of the city would result in one of their deaths. What’s worse is that Castillo was allegedly killed by one of his own relatives, a 15 year old boy.

Castillo’s stepfather, Earl Hemsley, says that his stepson was killed for breaking up a fight earlier in the day last week Wednesday.  According to Hemsley, sometime around 2:00 that same afternoon a fight had broken out between Castillo’s aunt with whom he was staying and another relative in the village. The fight turned into a mob armed with sticks, stones and 91machetes. But little did he know that the fight which eventually ended that afternoon would resume later on in the night.

Castillo’s aunt became ill and she needed a painkiller that night. Forgetting about the previous incident, Castillo volunteered to go buy the painkiller for her.  He left the house with two of her sons, his cousins, and together they went to the shop.  But while there, they noticed that a group of young boys, most of them relatives, were advancing on them with sticks, stones and machetes.  They decided to run, splitting up to lose their aggressors.  Castillo ran through the adjacent yard hoping to elude them in the dark.  But the youths knew the yard all too well and found Castillo hiding from them.  That was when one of them, suspected to be the 15 year old, hacked him cruelly across the head with a machete.

Hemsley said that her son spoke with her only half an hour before he was killed. He joked with her she said as she waited for a local game show to begin.  The last thing he told her was “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

When the phone rang a short while later with Castillo’s younger brother nervous and worried she knew something was wrong. That was when her sister took the phone and told her that Castillo had been chopped and that they were on their way to the Belmopan hospital.  But he never lived through the night. Castillo bled to death. His stepfather said that there were two chop wounds: the deep gash on his head and another on his arm presumably inflicted when Castillo raised his hand to block the blow. The yard where the incident happened had a trail of blood leading from that the back all the way to the front.

Earl Hemsley said that the lack of remorse on the alleged killer’s face makes him want full justice for his stepson.  Meanwhile, the villagers are still shocked at what happened.  In the short space of time that Castillo was there he had earned the liking of everyone he met.  He was quick to help the children and mannerly to the elders.  He lived with his parents at the corner of Mahogany and Mopan Streets and was hired as a handyman by his neighbor, Browns Butane Gas. He’s described as a quiet young man who never went looking for trouble. Police have charged Castillo’s 15 year old cousin with his murder.  They say that they have enough evidence to get a conviction.

Orlando “Lando” Rodriguez

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The ordinarily peaceful village of Frank’s Eddy along mile 38 on the Western Highway was the venue for the nation’s latest, bloodiest and perhaps, most mysterious murder of recent times.  It occurred on Sunday evening while four friends, at least by all accounts, were socialising near a supermarket in the village, just a couple of miles from one of the country’s more famous tourist attractions, Jaguar Paw Resort.

Orlando “Lando” Rodriguez, 26, a labourer, had just finished cleaning his family’s yard in neighbouring St. Matthews Village and left home in his green pickup.  He ended up at Frank’s Village where he and a friend showed up to a section of the business establishment where he ordered and ate a plate of rice and beans.  While he was there another vehicle, a white car, showed up with two other men, who went to the supermarket section on the same compound and purchased beers. They too did not leave immediately as they went on the roadside to drink beers. At some point they went over to where Rodriguez and his friend were still seated and a conversation started among the four. That conversation soon turned into a quarrel and that escalated into an all-out brawl between the two groups of men. The fight ended up outside in the yard, after the four had engaged in hurling pint bottles at each other. It was during this exchange that one of the two who had arrived in the white car picked up a cement block and repeatedly pummelled Rodriguez with it on the right side of his head.  The assault caused a huge gash near his right temple, and blood flowed freely from his head, He collapsed unconscious on the ground.

When the fight ended the two men who fought with Rodriguez and his friend then left the scene in their white car. Eyewitnesses called for an ambulance, which rushed Rodriguez to the Belmopan Hospital a few miles away.  His common-law wife, with whom he shared two young sons, had already been informed and she rushed to the scene.  She accompanied Rodriguez in the ambulance, but he succumbed to serious head injuries.

Eyewitnesses are bewildered by the sequence of events that unfolded so quickly before their eyes in such short space of time.  Just a few minutes before Rodriguez and the men were conversing. What was exchanged in the conversation to lead to murder is what Belmopan police are trying to piece together.  Late on Tuesday they charged tour guide, Guillian Hernandez, 29, with murder.  He is expected to appear in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court today, where he is further expected to be placed on remand for a charge of that nature.

By Roy Davis

Solomon Marin Jr., 27, a resident of Dangriga charged with robbery and kidnapping, was sentenced to 10 years for each count today in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court after he was found guilty of the charges.

Justice Troadio Gonzalez, who imposed the sentences, stipulated that they should run concurrently. Therefore, Marin will only serve 10 years.

Marin was also charged with taking a conveyance without authority and he was found guilty of that charge.

A second defendant, Oliver Rodriguez, 23, was acquitted of the charges after Justice Gonzalez upheld a no case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

A third person was implicated in the incident but he was never arrested.

The incident occurred around 3 p.m. on August 26, 2006 in Belmopan.  The complainant, Leon Castillo, 25, testified that when he went to the ATM at First Caribbean Bank, he was kidnapped by two men, one of them armed with a sawed-off shotgun.

Castillo said the men drove him in his vehicle to a place just outside of Belmopan then they stole his money and jewelry.

Castillo testified that a third man entered the vehicle and they drove him to feeder road off the Hummingbird Highway.

Castillo said the shotgun was put to his head but he was not shot and he was tied to a tree and left there. Marin and Rodriguez gave statements from the dock in which they denied they committed the offences.

Marin was represented by attorney Ellis Arnold.  Rodriguez was not represented by any attorney.  Senior Crown Counsel Cecil Ramirez represented the prosecution.

James Lemoth

Jessem Gladden

Anthony Trapp

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Just when the mourning and grieving wanes for families of the last set of murder victims, four more are gripped with the same plague – more violence and death.  Since last Friday, there have been four murders; three alone in Belize City and another in Unitedville, Cayo.

The violence never ended.  It never even subsides. It just simply gets worse, and continues to with no response from the Government.

On Monday, a resident of Unitedville stumbled upon the body of Anthony Trapp, 63, in bushes off the dirt road. He was last seen alive at a bar on Saturday night. Trapp’s neighbours and relatives became concerned for him when he didn’t show up to eat for two days. Sometime after midday after a search party had been activated, Trapp’s body was discovered. His head had been bashed in and a blood-stained rock was discovered a short distance away.

As for James Lemoth, 17, the youth had been waiting for a job in electrification to come through for him. He had graduated two years ago from the Ladyville Tubal Technical. On Saturday night he arrived home from a party and was hanging out with family members on the steps of his home at #30 Benbow Street before he left after midnight to see if the nearby Chinese Shop was still open.  His family retired to bed and did not know that when Lemoth left home, he wouldn’t return. In fact, they didn’t learn until the following morning when they got up that Lemoth had been killed in an alley not far from their home.  The neighbors heard the shot but never ventured out to see what it was.

Less than 24 hours later, on Sunday night, Steven Perez, 18, had been excited that he was about to enter the second year of sixth form at St. John’s Junior College.  He had saved up money as a messenger at Home Protector Insurance Company for his registration the following day, but he never got a chance to see that come through. On Sunday night, he was heading home to Fuller’s Alley off Gibnut Street when he was gunned down – the victim of mistaken identity, by all accounts.  Perez had stopped at a friend’s house on Dolphin Street on his way home and that was where a gunman, who lurked across the street, decided to open fire.  Perez never stood a chance.  He was hit six times, yelling for help as he stumbled in the yard.

Prior to the youths’ murders, on Friday night, Jessim Gladden, 39, the brother of Darren Banks, passed away from bullet wounds he suffered the previous night on Flamboyant Street.  Gladden, a resident of Oleander Street, had left home to go to his regular hang-out spot and he was among a group sitting down when the gunman pounced on him. While police believe his killing was the result of an “old beef” his family questions whether it had to do with Banks’ detention behind bars.

Orange Walk District, June 13, 2011

By Carmelita Perez

52 year old Maria Elena Baeza, who was found with several chop wounds to her head and face on a feeder road off Yo Creek Road in the Orange Walk District, remains in a critical condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City.

Baeza was found with chop wounds on the head, two on the face and one on the back. Her body was discovered a few feet away from her black Ford Ranger Pickup truck.

According to Baeza’s brother, on Sunday morning when he visited his sister’s house located on Unity Street he saw a bicycle in the pan of her pickup truck. He became suspicious and started calling out for her but there was no answer.  Several knocks on the door also proved futile so he left thinking that his sister was not at home.

Baeza has told her family that she was at home and heard her brother calling out her name. She said she was unable to respond, because at that time a man who had entered her home was holding a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she made any noise.

Baeza told her family that the man took her to a feeder road where he assaulted and chopped her several times before leaving her for dead.

Police are now looking for one man, Orlando Sanchez, from San Lazaro Village who they believe can assist them in their investigations.

Donovan Bailey

Jerome Wade

Wednesday, May 9, 2011

The shooting rampage has reached another high it seems, with a ridiculously high number of gun assaults over the weekend.  Two of the attacks were fatal and the Police Department seems to be struggling with making any meaningful arrests.

It started on Friday night when Donovan Bailey, 30, a tire repairman, was shot dead while he socialized with friends on Black Orchid Street around 7:15pm when two men rode up and shot him in the right side of his chest.  The bullet ripped through Bailey’s right lung and he died the same night.  Three other men, Lazaro Murillo, 35, was hit in the left leg, while Joaquin Lazaro, 44, was grazed in the abdomen, and Percival Torres, 35, was grazed in the right hip.

Before Saturday morning had arrived, two more shootings had occurred.  Shortly after one that morning, security guard, Estevan Fernandez Jr., 22, was shot to the right side of his abdomen as he walked home on Casaurina Street.  Less than two hours later, police were called out again to the third shooting scene at the fire station at the corner of Warrie and Dolphin Streets.  Fireman, Kendis Longsworth, 28, suffered a gunshot wound to the upper shoulder during a struggle between another fireman, Evan Martinez, 25, and a gunman who entered the station and threatened to shoot.  Martinez grabbed the gun and the two struggled in another room.  When the gun discharged, the bullet penetrated a partition that separated the two rooms and hit Longsworth.

Meanwhile, a 17 year old youth was shot to the left inner thigh while he and another friend were riding separate bicycles towards Mahogany Street on Saturday night.  The shooting occurred just as the two passed by a yard.

Two days later on Monday, the second murder occurred at around 3:30 at the junction of Partridge and Vernon Streets.  Jerome Jason Wade, 21, was shot multiple times to the head and abdomen as he stood with two brothers.  The shooter was a man who diverted off Patridge Street.