22-Year-Old Arraigned for Murder of Mark Waight

Tonight, a twenty-two-year-old man is behind bars at the Belize Central Prison after being arraigned for the weekend murder of well-known street figure Mark Waight. The accused is Peter Lara, a resident of Jane Usher Boulevard in Belize City. Allegedly, on Saturday, twenty-four-year-old Waight, who had previously been acquitted of the murder of news reporter Kareem Clarke, was socializing in front of his girlfriend’s house on Central American Boulevard. A dispute broke out with another man, who then pulled out a gun and shot Waight multiple times. Lara is accused of being the perpetrator of this violent attack. This morning, Lara appeared unrepresented at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder of thirty-three-year-old Francine Herbert, who was critically injured in the incident, one count of dangerous harm, and one count of use of deadly means of harm. Due to the severity of the charges, no plea was taken, and Lara was denied bail. He has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison until April twenty-eighth, 2025. Meanwhile, Herbert remains in the ICU, fighting for her life.