Clay Uter Murdered on Good Friday in Belize City

A man was killed in his yard on Good Friday in Belize City. Fifty-two-year-old Clay Uter, also known as Clay Monsanto, was fatally shot by a gunman who jumped his fence and targeted him. Surveillance footage from the home shows the shooters climbing across a wooden fence, while a second individual on a motorcycle waited for him on the street. Moments later, shots rang out, and the perpetrator ran back towards the motorcycle. Both men sped off in the direction of Mahogany Street. Uter is no stranger to the law. He was wanted by the police in 2004 for murder. Uter was said to be a prominent street figure in those times. He spent the last twenty years in the U.S., was deported seven months ago, and was in the process of completely transforming his life, according to his family’s account. So, did his past catch him? News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Clay Uter was killed inside his yard on Mckenzie Street in Belize City, only three days after a state of emergency was declared. On Good Friday, Uter was sitting down next to his house when a gunman jumped his fence and opened fire in his direction. The gunman then got on a motorcycle and sped off, leaving behind a fatally injured Uter. The fifty-two-year-old shooting victim was deported to Belize seven months ago after spending time behind bars in the U.S. His brother, Raymond “Footie” Gongora, says Uter had made a complete change since returning home.

 

Raymond ‘Footie” Gongora, Brother of Deceased

“My mah from I seventeen, Clay mih nine, my sister my seventeen, the next one was eight and I was the head of the family. When Clay was younger, he was caught up in the gang world. Yes I understand that, but he got two of his kids got killed, he went away and twenty years later he come back deported. So he said, well you know Ray I have to get to know my kids them, show my grandkids them some love because if it wasn’t for that he would go right back. So, this is what he was trying to do, get fih know his kids deh now. One thing weh in ah mih, I don’t want to hear anybody say anything about when I gwen kill this one or that one for Clay, because at the end of the day if you kill a thousand man, ih still nuh wah please me, because it is still a black man, a black youth weh deserve a chance in life and that nuh wah bring back my breda.”

 

In 2004, Uter was wanted by police for questioning in connection with a murder. He was also wanted around the same time for questioning in connection with an attempted murder and an attempted burglary. Gongora says that while Uter had his past, he wants people to know that his brother was a jovial individual who transformed into someone who wanted to see better for his community. Gongora suspects, however, that his brother’s past may have caught up with him.

 

Raymond ‘Footie” Gongora

“Clay came and to be honest Clay never went anywhere like that. If you want to find Clay that is where you will find him, always at home. He never in nothing to plan to kill you. He mih more into his family and kids and try to get his life back. You gone so long. Like I told him Belize different, just try keep by yourself. Yes I know you have to be social with people, but just be careful because a lot of people link with all kind of gangs and once you get recognized with certain people then you will get recognized as one of those people. In Belize a lot of people get killed because of affiliation because they are guilty by association. So I told him, just stay right yah, no need to go nowhere.”

 

Raymond “Footie” Gongora is one of the lead mediators in the Belize Police Department’s Leadership Intervention Unit. Gongora spends a lot of his time mediating between members of rival gangs to quell flareups and prevent violent acts of crime. So, does his brother’s murder change his perspective on the work that he has been doing?

 

Raymond ‘Footie” Gongora

“Honestly no, it hurts. I loved that man, I love my brother and he loved me. But, there is a lot of other youths and we dah all black men and as I see it our race is at risk because we the kill out each other while other races look on. So, at the end of the day we still have to stop this. If because my brother got killed I just throw in the towel like that then I never had a heart in it and my heart is in the work I do, because I am one of those kids from that same environment weh know that some of them have peer pressure, some of them don’t have any outlets, so that is why they are in what they are in and the location they are in. So, why would I throw it in? If I throw it in , that means my heart was never in it.”

 

Uter lost two of his children to gun violence. He leaves behind ten other children.

 

Raymond ‘Footie” Gongora

“Me, only god knows best and I am here because of God and he is here because of God. And I have to say what God decides and what God makes happen no man can question. It is God’s will. So he knows what he is doing. That is one of the things that keeps me going to deal with this right now. It is not an easy thing as a human person. this is not an easy thing, you see I the talk, but I have to be the bigger person and say you know what, what God decides, no man can put different.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.