Two men have been sentenced to prison for the 2019 burglary and gun heist at Victor L. Bryant on Independence Boulevard. Randy Chambers has been handed a sentence of eight years and six months for burglary, and six years and six months for kept firearm without a gun license. His partner in crime, Selvin Linares got seven years and seven months for burglary and five years and three months for kept firearm without a gun license. Both sentences are to run concurrently so they will serve the larger prison term of eight and seven years, respectively. Late Tuesday evening, after the court heard a mitigation plea on both men’s behalf, the Senior Magistrate handed down the sentence. On Thursday, June thirteenth, Chambers was found guilty of eight counts of firearm offenses and guilty of burglarizing Victor L. Bryant. On Thursday, July twenty-seventh, 2023, Linares pleaded guilty to the burglary, but not guilty to the firearm offenses. Nonetheless, he was found guilty of five counts of kept firearm without a gun license. During the mitigation plea hearing, Chambers asked the court to consider the two programs he had completed whilst at the prison, while Linares asked for mercy and for the court to consider the fact that he too had completed the Freedom for Journey course.
Category: Crime
SOE Follows Trinibad Fallout and Attack on Roaring Creek Police Station
Another state of emergency is in effect for neighborhoods on the north and south sides of Belize City. It is the second S.O.E. within the past six months in an attempt to arrest the spike in violent crimes carried out by feuding gangs. Earlier today, simultaneous operations were conducted in the Victoria Street area, Lake Independence and other parts of the city where several individuals were rounded up under the latest emergency declaration. The Commissioner of Police is on record blaming a recent concert for the rash of gang-related shootings and murders within the past week. The Leader of the Opposition roundly criticizes the ComPol’s approach and says don’t blame the violence on music and entertainment. Tonight, a handful of alleged gang members is in police custody and if the commissioner has his way, they will remain on lockdown at the Belize Central Prison for the next three months. We begin our newscast tonight with a report from Isani Cayetano.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
This morning, teams of law enforcement officers swarmed around various neighborhoods in Belize City, including Lake Independence, where another state of emergency has come into effect. The S.O.E. comes hard on the heels of a violent weekend that saw a deadly attack on two men inside a vehicle on Mahogany Street. Several days earlier, in a separate shooting incident, another individual was murdered near La Croix Boulevard.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“This morning, the police department launched a state of emergency on south side Belize City, as well as over on north side, Victoria Street, including that entire Jungle area. So, this morning, as you see, the police are out in full force, along with members of the Belize Defense Force, and we are pursuing those persons who we want to be detained as part of the S.O.E.”
“They had the concert, certain things took place at the concert and there was where everything started. It spilt over after the concert and then it permeates the city. We now have to deal with the aftermath of that.”
An operation is underway on the streets of Lake-I. A checkpoint has been set up on Western Avenue where vehicles entering and exiting onto the George Price Highway are inspected. Since the campaign began, the Belize Police Department has recovered firearms, ammunition, and various quantities of cannabis.
“The police have recovered a number of firearms and ammunition within the Belize District and the Cayo area. I must say that since we started our operations in the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area the team there has seized about four firearms and a number of ammunition. So it goes to show the work that the police have been doing in those areas to be able to crack down on the issue of crime.”
“We are in search for that individual. As I said, we know who he is but we have not been able to locate him. We are hoping that pretty soon we will be able to do so. We have gotten additional information, I will not divulge that to the media at this time, surrounding that entire incident. And so, as soon as the investigation is at a level where we believe we can share certain things with you, then we’ll do so.”
“Can you explain to us why Cotton Tree is included in the S.O.E.?”
Chester Williams
“We do have a number of elements who are originally from Roaring Creek, but they have moved over and taken up residence in Cotton Tree and those people are among the group of persons who are terrorizing that entire western corridor. They commit burglaries, robberies, shootings from Cotton Tree all the way to the border area, and so it is important for us to be able to capture those persons as part of the S.O.E.”
Chester Williams
“We started our operations since yesterday and we have been able to detain a number of persons who were wanted for murders. As you would see on our media blog we had shared with yesterday, the arrests of two individuals. One was arrested for the murder of Elwin Lewis which took place a couple months ago. That person had been on the run for a number of months from us and we were able to locate him yesterday. And we also charged, I think, Marquis Conorquie for the murder of the guy Moore who was killed on Sunday during the day. So those two individuals were captured as part of this operation and we have also detained a number of other persons who the GI3 will be looking at for gang investigation and a number of persons who are wanted by C.I.B. for different investigations as well.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Opposition Leader Slams Government for Crime Rate
Following the state of emergency declaration, the Leader of the Opposition, slammed the government for what he describes as having no solution to the increasing crime rate. This afternoon, Shyne Barrow also said his party has been suggesting a change at the helm of the police department for quite some time. He pointed to the increase in murder rate, compared to last year, and criticized the Commissioner of Police for blaming the Trinibad concert for the recent gun violence.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“You have the commissioner of police blaming music as the reason for the current state of emergency. It is music now. It is concerts. It is a DJ Trinibad. He’s the reason that people are killing people, please. This is the reason that Chester has to go. There has been a 45 percent increase in the murder rate. We have 58 murders already, from January to June, whereas last year we had about 40 or maybe 45. And so we have a significant increase in the murder rate. The United Democratic Party has been saying for the last few years that the Prime Minister needed to make adjustments in the Ministry of Police and We stay by that. We have been saying that Chester Williams has reached his expiration date. Milk tastes good, but after a certain date, it is useless. And we are seeing that with the Ministry of Police. They completely lack leadership. They lack leadership. The competence at the two most important positions, which is the ministry, the minister of police, and the commissioner of police. And what we see in Chester Williams is just a defense attorney for the Government of Belize. There is no accountability, there is no willingness to accept shortcomings, there is no willingness to work with stakeholders.”
An Arrest is Made in Stanley Moore’s Murder
Twenty-four- year-old Marquis Anthony Conorquie has been arraigned and remanded to the Belize Central Prison for the murder of thirty-two-year-old Stanley Moore and the attempted murder of twenty-seven-year-old Joshua Gillett. As we reported, on Sunday evening, Moore and Gillett were traveling in a B.M.W. from the direction of Central American Boulevard towards Oleander Street when two men on a motorcycle rode up beside the car. One man on the motorcycle pointed a firearm at the B.M.W. and opened fire. The two men on the motorcycle then drove off towards the direction of Amandala Drive and made good their escape. A wounded Gillett drove himself and Moore to the K.H.M.H. When police arrived at the hospital, Moore was found dead inside the passenger seat of the car, while Gillett was being treated in emergency. Two days after the shooting, police have arrested and charged Marquis Conorque. He was taken to court and read four charges, including murder, attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm and dangerous harm. In court, no plea was taken from Conorquie and, due to the nature of the offenses, bail was denied. He was remanded into custody at the Belize Central Prison until August twenty-sixth. According to police, the main suspect, a twenty-six-year-old man from the Saint Martin De Porres area, remains at large. Conorquie was presently out on bail for robbery. That trial is ongoing.
Second Suspect Charged For “Bobo Youth” Murder, 2 Months Later
Rudolph “Bobo Youth” Lewis was murdered on March twenty-second. Tonight, a second suspect is behind bars in connection with his shooting death. Twenty-one-year-old Robert Arnold was brought before the Magistrates Court where he was read a single charge of murder. Arnold is now charged jointly with twenty-two-year-old Travis Herbert who was first arraigned on May sixth. In court today, Arnold was unrepresented and due to the nature of the offense, he was denied bail and remanded into custody at the Belize Central Prison until July fifth. That is also the date that Herbert will appear in court for a second time since being arraigned for murder. As we reported, on March twenty-second, Lewis was riding his motorcycle from the direction of Elston Kerr Street towards Central American Boulevard when two male persons on a motorcycle came from behind him and fired several shots in his direction. Lewis later succumbed to the injuries he sustained, while being treated at the K.H.M.H. The murder scene was visited by Scenes of Crime Personnel, where expended shells were recovered from the scene, along with a green Lifan motorcycle. Police also viewed several video surveillance footages in the immediate area and footage was retrieved as evidence. Witness statements positively identified Travis Herbert as one of the men riding on the motorcycle from which the gunshots were fired.
Why was Doris Grant Charged for Gang Involvement?
Reggae Street resident Doris Grant and her common-law husband, Austin Underwood, were arrested and charged last week for being members of a gang. The couple was arraigned and remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being denied bail in the lower courts several days after they came under gunfire while returning home from the Trinibad concert. But what brought about the charges for the embattled businesswoman and her common-law? Here’s how ComPol Williams responded to that question.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The GI3 has a responsibility or a mandate to investigate every person who we believe are members of any criminal gangs in Belize. They did their investigation, they had their evidence and they brought the charges. The matter is now before the court and I’ll leave it at that.”
Will Accused Murderer Ellis Meighan be Deported to Belize?
Suspected murderer Ellis Meighan remains in the United States where he is seeking asylum. Meighan fled to the U.S. after reportedly killing Placencia resident Roy Lee Burgess and severely injuring Maia James during a shooting incident along the Placencia Road on April fourteenth. Efforts are being made by the Belize Police Department to have him repatriated and stand trial for murder.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We have submitted every required documentation to our counterparts in the US, including the wanted poster, the arrest warrant and a number of other documents. They have acknowledged receiving those documents and so I believe that they are just going to go through the asylum process because I think he’s claiming asylum and once that is rejected then he should be returned to Belize and once he returns to Belize we have everything prepared for him to be charged for murder.”
ComPol Blames Gang Violence on Recent Concert
There has been a spike in gang violence across Belize City in the last seven days, resulting in multiple shooting incidents that have left three men dead and several other persons injured, including businesswoman Doris Grant. The spate of shootings began in the early hours of June sixteenth, when Grant and her common-law husband Austin Underwood came under gunfire as they drove home from a concert. In the wake of that attack, there has been an upsurge in gang-related violence that Commissioner of Police Chester Williams attributes to the music played at the event.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“This gang world issue, there are persons who are very thin-skinned, they are very insensitive and it takes just a little to spark them. I have always said, we must do our work in such a way where we do not allow one idiot to go and do something stupid and then that creates or that would normally create that chain of events. We saw where, again, as a society we accept too much negativity. I don’t know who inspired anybody to have brought Trinibad to Belize. Trinibad cyant go play, or cyant go deejay da many countries in the Caribbean. But we weh done have wah very vulnerable society where gangs are concerned, we wah bring that kinda deejay to Belize. Right at Trinibad, da deh everything start, you know. Right there, it started and it spills over. Now, in terms of dealing with the whole issue, we tried our best to clip the root, but by that time ih done spread already. So we saw where it went from Southside to Supal Street, to BLC, to PIV and then now to Conch Shell Bay. So it spreads. It just takes one spark and it spreads like a wild fire.”
Man Dead, Another Critical After Shooting Near Police Substation
A deadly attack occurred on Sunday afternoon on Mahogany Street in Belize City and when it was over, a man was dead, and another sat critically wounded inside the vehicle they were traveling in. The incident happened on Mahogany Street in the Lake-I community, literally a stone’s throw away from a police substation. The passenger in the car, Stanley Moore, was dead before he was even taken to the K.H.M.H. Today, News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with his grieving mother, Jennifer Wade, who is currently in the United States. She posted an audio message on Facebook in which her deceased son said that policemen were allegedly out to get him. Here’s that report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The peace of Sunday afternoon was broken on Mahogany Street, less than a block from the police sub-station, when gunshots rang out around four p.m. The two occupants of a grey BMW car came under fire. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams shares what he knows of the incident.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The two individuals were in the area yesterday in a vehicle and while there, they came under fire from an individual. We already know who that person is and we are looking for that individual. One person died as a result of that attack and one is critically ill in the hospital. We’re hoping and praying that the one who is in the hospital critically ill is going to pull through and he will be able to give us some more specifics in terms of that incident. But again, these are the things that we spoke about.”
Williams says that the area is constantly patrolled by police officers and that moments before the crime took place, they had passed that location. Regional Commander for Eastern Division, A.C.P Hilberto Romero identified the two victims and says that they have one of two suspects in custody.
A.C.P Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“The two persons were identified as Stanley Moore and Joshua Gillett. Stanley Moore was pronounced dead on arrival at the KHMH and Joshua Gillett received treatment and is now in a stable condition. We have one person in custody for this murder who will be charged later on today for the crime of murder. And we are seeking one more suspect.”
This afternoon, News Five spoke via phone with Stanley Moore’s mother, Jennifer Wade, who is currently in the U.S. She made a Facebook post including an audio clip she said her son sent her, accusing police officers of targeting him. Wade told us that she did not get a chance to ask him who those persons were.
Voice of: Jennifer Wade, Mother of Stanley Moore
“I never send a message till seven o’clock the morning when I get up and when I see the message, I pick up my phone and I send ah back wa voice clip clip saying, son, stay outta dehn way. Goh home if yoh have to go home make yoh nuh deh round the police dehn. Ih never have a phone, but I could not be tapped on because I’m a while here, straight up fi ask ah what really happened, nuh just tell me the police dehn deh after yoh, dehn di provoke yoh, weh nuh seh nothing, but I never get to talk to ah.”
Britney Gordon
“In regards to Stanely Moore, his mother made some complaints that he was being harassed by police officer. Do you have any information about this?”
“I do not have that information.”
Britney Gordon
“She released a statement from him, an audio recording of him saying that if anything should happen to him the police are responsible. So there’s no information regarding if he had an incident with a police officer?”
“I do not know of such incident.”
Marion Ali for News Five.
Father of 2 Gunned Down in Pitts Alley
Tonight, family and friends are mourning the loss fifty-year-old Dion Bowden, also known as Mister T, who was gunned down in Belize City over the weekend. Reports are that he was walking down Pitts Alley in the wee small hours of Saturday morning, when he was approached by a gunman and fatally shot.
Police have since arrested and charged thirty-five-year-old construction worker, Jeffery Pott, who was identified through video footage and an eyewitness. He was arraigned this morning in court where he was read a single charge of murder. No plea was taken from Pott and due to the nature of the offense, he was denied bail and remanded into custody at the Belize Central Prison until August twenty-third, 2024. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the report.
Destiny Allen, Partner of Deceased
“I mi get wa dream bout ah from before that happened. I mih get wa a dream, and I mih warn ah. so many times, never fih mih gone out deh and ih still persisted and gone.”
The death of fifty-year-old Dion Bowden, or Mister T, as he was otherwise known, is felt by several members of the community who recall seeing him at the street corner. However, for Destiny Allen and her two infant daughters, that grief is immense.
Destiny Allen
“He da wa kind and loving, careful man. I would say, a nice person. Why would I say nice person Because he make sure I take care ah dih pikni good and ker ney da clinic every now and again. Ih always make you feel happy. Ih make you not feel down and fall or dendeh you know.”
The father of two’s life was cut short on Saturday after he was fatally shot in Pitts Alley. He had been walking with several companions when the gunman approached from the direction of New Road and fired. ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Eastern Division, provided further details on the incident.
ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“On Saturday, the twenty-second day of June 2024 around one forty-five a.m. Police responded to a shooting incident at Pitts Alley in Belize City. Upon their arrival there they found the lifeless body of Dion Bowden with gunshot injuries. Investigation revealed that Dion Bowden was at the alley along with other persons when he was approached by a male person who fired several shots towards him causing his fatal injury. The onboarding was taken to the cage image where he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
Police have since charged thirty-five-year-old Jeffery Pott. According to Romero, the incident stemmed from an altercation between Pott and Bowden.
“An investigation was carried out into this shooting and since we have arrested and charge Jeffery Pott for the crime of murder.”
Britney Gordon
“Was there an altercation between them that led to the shooting?”
“Yes, there was a previous altercation in the alley with the onboarding and another person before the shooting.”
Allen says that Bowden was inebriated the night of the incident and had warned him not to go out in that state. She explained that she had a premonition about her partner’s death but did not know that night would be the last time she would ever see him alive.
“That happened the Saturday night. Cause I actually mih deh inside with he. We sit down quite good and contented after that. It’s just, that night deh ih mih drunk. Ao I sseh, inna wa sense a way ah wa leff ah lone mek ih sit down inna wa chair, and relax itself, and noh go back out there. So ih tell me, it say babe, ih say, I wah go and tek a lee walk. I tell him, babe please no go out there. Please, because I done tell you already, neva fih mih gone out there none at all. But I wah go tek mih- no go. Right soh ah tell ah, no go. Because I done got wah feeling that something wah happen to you. And ih still persisted, ih follow and gone out there and gone and get himself killed right there.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.