Gunfire erupted in Majestic Alley over the weekend and investigators are trying to determine whether the shooting victim was in fact a triggerman sent to carry out a hit on someone in the area. Alex Lino remains hospitalized tonight after being shot on Saturday. He told police that he was in the vicinity of the alley when someone opened fire and then he realized that he had been struck by a bullet. Residents contend that Lino was lurking in the neighborhood and when he reportedly fired at his target, someone also shot at him.
“Police responded to a shooting incident at Majestic Alley in Belize City. Upon their arrival they found one Alex Lino who had received a gunshot injury. Lino reported that he was at the alley on a motorcycle when he heard several gunshots. He then realized that he was shot and is presently at the KHMH in a stable condition. We have several persons in custody and the investigation continues.”
Isani Cayetano
“Are you guys able to determine whether or not he, Mr. Lino, was there to carry out a crime when he got targeted by residents?”
Hilberto Romero
“Yeah, we are following up on several reports that are being made. That is the information we have, that there were several gunshots that were heard in the area so we following up on those.”
Elsewhere in Belize City this weekend, another individual was the target of a drive-by shooting on King Street. Avery Usher was outside when a vehicle appeared on the scene and someone inside took aim at him. An officer who happened to be in the vicinity, returned fire at the fleeing vehicle.
“Police responded to a shooting incident at King Street in Belize City. Upon their arrival they found Avery Usher with a gunshot injury. Information is that Usher was standing on King Street when a vehicle pulled up and one of the occupants fired several shots towards his direction. A police officer who was in the area at the time then fired towards the vehicle which sped off. Usher is presently at the K.H.M.H. recovering and we have not detained anyone so far for this investigation.”
Sixty-seven-year-old Griffith Cadle was stabbed to death by someone he was socializing with on Thursday night. The men were at a store on Saint Joseph Street near its intersection with Nurse Seay Street when his friend reportedly inflicted the fatal stab wound. Residents describe Cadle as easygoing and mild-mannered, but why would his friend who was recently released from the Belize Central Prison turn on him with deadly consequence? We turned to the Regional Commander of Eastern Division for an answer.
“On Thursday, June 13th, 2024, police responded to a stabbing incident on St. Joseph Street in Belize City. Upon their arrival, they saw the motionless body of Griffith Cadle sixty-seven years [old] with a stabbing injury. Information received is that Griffith Cadle was with another male person consuming alcoholic beverages at a store nearby and he was walking on the street when this person approached him and inflicted a stab wound injury to him. In regards to this investigation, we have one person in custody and the investigation continues at this time.”
Isani Cayetano:
“We understand that the suspect who is reportedly a friend of Mr. Cadle’s was recently released from the Belize Central Prison.”
Hilberto Romero
“That is correct. He was recently released from prison.”
Isani Cayetano
“Can you tell me what, if any, was the mental state of either of these two individuals?”
Hilberto Romero
“I cannot say. All I know is that they were hanging out at that area and all of that is being followed up as part of the investigation.”
A.C.P. Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division, told reporters today that several persons are detained in relation to the shooting of thirty-one-year-old Austin Underwood and Doris Grant.
A.C.P. Romero said investigators believe the motive is gang-related. “We are following up on several leads…”
Both victims were treated and released.
The incident happened on Sunday, June 16th. According to police, the victims were returning from an event at approximately 3:10 a.m. When they passed the Fairweather bridge, someone emerged from the alley connecting Fairweather and West Collet Canal and fired multiple gunshots towards them, injuring them. They drove to the hospital for medical attention.
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing explained that damage to the Coastal Plains Highway was caused by a 3.0m x 1.5m box culvert that was overtopped due to backwater from Soldier Creek, approximately 180m away.
In a press release, the ministry said that this backwater resulted from a blockage in the creek and deforestation caused by recent wildfires, which expanded the catchment areas around the culvert.
“The Road Maintenance Unit of the MIDH, along with the contractor, has been mobilised to execute clean-up and minor restoration works on the pavement. In addition, the MIDH is conducting further assessment of the area to determine any additional contributing factors that forced run-off away from the intended Soldier Creek.”
According to the ministry, this suggests that the culvert’s overtopping and subsequent pavement erosion were due to the unexpected intensity of rainfall and flash flooding, along with debris overwhelming the culvert’s capacity.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education announced the “suspension of classes for all levels in the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts for today, 17th June 2024. This suspension is necessary due to excessive rainfall, which has impacted both districts since early this morning.”
Disgraced attorney Oscar Selgado has been sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted on March eighth of abetment to commit murder. The punishment which was handed down by Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court brings to an end a long-drawn out case against the well-known lawyer. In court this afternoon, family and friends of Oscar Selgado listened intently to the reading of his sentence, as Justice Pilgrim thoroughly outlined how he arrived at the decade-long prison term. Of note is that the trial judge reiterated the fact that Selgado has not shown remorse for the crime that he has committed. In weighing the mitigating and aggravating factors, this was a consideration made by Justice Pilgrim in meting out justice. Outside the courtroom, we spoke with the Director of Public Prosecutions who said that they are satisfied with the jail sentence that has been given to Selgado.
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions
“Our courts dispensed justice, so I don’t think anybody was expecting injustice today. We are pleased with the sentence and I think that the decision was well reasoned.”
Reporter
“He went above the precedent that’s been set, of six years.”
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal
“He’s not bound by the precedent. I think that we did cite cases to the court in our oral arguments which suggested that while that would be a consideration, it could not have resulted in what was being asked for by the other side.”
Reporter
“Are you able to say anything in relation to as to whether a process is happening right now regarding going before the G.L.C. based on the outcome of this case.”
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal
“I can’t speak on G.L.C. matters.”
Reporter
“What happens now, given that the appeal is in process?”
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal
“I believe it has been set for case management and then orders will be given in relation to the filing of submissions and then a date will be set for the hearing of the appeal. We think that the ultimate sentence is commensurate with the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case.”
Reporter
“What can you say about the fact that the judge stated that there are no sacred cows. This was a very serious offense but he did take into consideration his pro bono cases and how the public views him?”
Cheryl-Lynn Vidal
“In the sentencing process, the judge must look at the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offense, and also the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offender. And so, the judge had to go through all of those factors and it was in fact a mitigating factor that up until this time, he was making a significant contribution to the criminal justice system.”
Today’s outcome was not what Selgado and his legal team were anticipating. On the lower end of the punishment is a six-year prison term that has been established as precedence. On the upper end is life in prison for abetment to commit murder. Selgado’s ten-year sentence takes into consideration the gravity of the crime he has committed. The judge also considered Selgado’s contribution to the criminal justice system through his legal practice. But Justice Pilgrim was also clear in pointing out that in the criminal justice system, there are no sacred cows and no one is above the law. We spoke with defense attorney Arthur Saldivar following the sentencing.
Arthur Saldivar
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney-at-law
“It marks the end of the first phase of Mr. Selgado’s struggle to vindicate himself. Mr. Selgado is certainly committed in his belief that what has transpired is not in keeping what was required legally and, as a result of that, has endeavored to appeal. So we are at that stage now where we are contemplating the appeal because there is certainly much to consider in terms of the process. That said, given what the learned justice has articulated, I think what is most appropriate for the public to consider is that he is making it clear from his belief and perspective that no one is above the law and that what applies to one must apply to all. That is a message that I think should go far and wide, from the streets to parliament. But, suffice it to say, we are now here at and of this phase for Mr. Selgado. We look forward to the other challenge and we look forward to a different outcome.”
Isani Cayetano
“Did you expect a sentence of ten years or were you perhaps considering that it would be on a lower side?”
Arthur Saldivar
“I have no expectations. We fight, advocate and whatever comes we deal with when it comes.”
Reporter
“How do you feel about the fact that the judge did not consider that the health of your client should not have factored into his sentence?”
Arthur Saldivar
“I don’t know that he did not consider it. The mere fact that he mentions it is consideration. The weight that he gave to it may not have been what, you know, would have been expected. But again, he’s guided by precedent. What we must bear in mind is that once conviction has been arrived at, there are certain parameters that the court must operate within in coming to its decision.”
A man was stabbed to death sometime before ten p.m. on Thursday in Belize City. It happened at the corners of Saint Joseph and Nurse Seay Street. Reports are that the victim, Griffith Cadle Junior, was hanging out with someone who ended up turning on him. It is not clear what transpired, but both men were reportedly near a Chinese grocery shop, where the two had spent many days socializing. They were last seen walking on Saint Joseph Street when the killer produced a knife and stabbed Cadle, who sought to run away, but collapsed. News Five’s Marion Ali visited the scene and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Griffith Cadle Junior was fatally stabbed on Thursday night in Belize City, in the general vicinity where he had spent most of his days hanging out. This is where the sixty-seven-year-old collapsed after he suffered the fatal knife wound. News Five spoke with a resident of the area who also happened to be Cadle’s relative. She told us that he was an easy-going character and was the neighborhood errand man who hung out near the corner of Nurse Seay and St. Joseph’s Streets.
Voice of: Neighbour #1
Voice of: Neighbour #1
“Cadle da mi cousin, but he nuh fast with nobody. When I say nobody, he keep to ihself – always he want a Coke and cigarettes, because ih sit down right deh by the Chiney deh. Ih always deh out deh di sit down but he get killed fi nothing. Fi nothing ih get killed. Dehn kill wa innocent man for what? Nothing, because all weh he do he sit down out deh, ih goh buy fi people round ya. And you could ask he fi goh anywhere fi you, he gwein, anywhere, he gwein. So when I see that last night, I say, mein, who could have wanted him dead?”
Another resident agreed that the victim was not troublesome and was a regular sight in front of the shop.
Voice of: Neighbour #2
Voice of: Neighbour #2
“Cadle da wa humble man, nice, friendly, nuh bother nobody. And he well mannerly, and things like that. He da wa humble man, nuh really bother nobody. A person like that da nuh wa problem. He just drink his Coke and run his joke and mind his own business. He nuh really associate with people. He sit down far from people and he nuh really stand up round or things like that. He keep his distance.”
And while residents feel that Cadle did not deserve what happened to him, today the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told News Five that both the victim and the suspect had mental challenges.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We don’t know if it’s going to be a murder because it was a matter between two persons with mental illness. The victim suffered mental illness and from what we saw on video footage, both the victim and the suspect were hanging out together at a particular spot. They left together and shortly thereafter, the suspect inflicted the stab wound on the victim. The suspect recently got out of prison. He served a ten-year sentence, I’m not sure for what, and the court had ordered that he undergo psychiatric evaluation because he has a mental issue. He is currently in police custody and he is not stable, so police cannot even interview him at this time because of how he’s behaving in the cell.”
The commissioner indicated that the police have requested assistance from the mental health institution to administer medication to calm the suspect down, after which they’re going to send the file to the D.P.P. for a directive. Marion Ali for News Five.
The incident happened in the Caribbean Shores constituency where the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa is also the area representative. Today, Musa said that it is unfortunate what happened to Cadle, but he sent a message that we need to look out for our mentally challenged relatives who could be at the mercy of the world and in potentially dangerous situations on the streets.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“Everybody in the neighborhood knows Junior well. Mr. Cadle was a retired serviceman and also somebody who was being treated. But if you knew Junior you would know that he’s completely harmless. He’s not a threat to anybody whatsoever. And so that came as very shocking news to the entire community to the neighborhood watch group that is extremely vigilant in that area – the Knights, correct. But police again were very swift to apprehend the suspect. It is a gentleman, I will not release his name until he’s charged, but it is a gentleman who I am told, likewise suffers with a mental condition. Apparently he served 10 years in jail already but he was released about a month ago. This definitely is one of those cases that makes you say we need to do more for our mental patients that are on the streets, that are homeless, that don’t have any family because if I’m not mistaken, Junior has no family, save and except for one brother who lives out on an island and doesn’t hardly ever come back to Belize City or to the mainland. And so I think while it is that the Ministry of Human Development, the Ministry of Health is doing an excellent job of tracking our mental patients, I think that we all need to do more for the homeless, for those who are mentally ill and to try to look out for them as best as we can. I know that this happened very late in the night. But again, we all have our own lives to go home to, and we can’t just be monitoring those who are out on the street, but as best as we can, we have to try to look out for them.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Vaccaro walked away from court a free man earlier today after beating a second murder charge. The Belize City resident was accused of the execution style shooting of a Chinese businessman of eighty-eight Shopping Center in November 2019. Zheng Cheng Liu was shot and killed near mile four on the George Price Highway. Vaccaro learned his fate when he appeared before Justice Derick Sylvester in the High Court. Prosecutor Riis Cattouse could not proceed with the trial because he was unable to locate the crown’s main witness. The D.P.P.’s office noted that the Belize Police Department had also attempted to locate the witness but those efforts were futile. Cattouse subsequently entered a case of nolle prosqui which set Vaccaro free.
