Earlier this week we showed you a viral video showing a man being physically assaulted by two men. The victim of the assault has been identified as Mark Avilez. The footage also shows that, during the assault, a toilet bowl was thrown at Avilez. The perpetrator, thirty-year-old Emmerson Garnett, pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault. And as we reported, Garnett was fined five hundred five dollars. Tonight, the mother of Mark Avilez, says she is not satisfied with the charge. She is now pressing the police department to file charges against Avilez’s girlfriend and the man who held down Avilez. The mother explained that the incident originated from an argument between her son and her sister. She says that her sister is the partner of Emmerson Garnett. We spoke with her off-camera today.
Voice of: Mother of Mark Avilez
Voice of: Mother of Mark Avilez
“I nuh the get no justice from the police. I gone dah the police station this morning and they told me the young lady wanted but I didn’t see no wanted picture up there. I nuh really like how the young man get charge for assault. I would want him to get charged for attempted murder because he had a sewerage, and he dropped the sewerage and hit my son with that. When I see that video and I put that on, I hurry cut it off and cry. And it hurts me for my own family to do something like this for me.”
Paul Lopez
“Mark was clearly in fear from the moment he saw him.”
Voice of: Mother of Mark Avilez
“When Mark saw him step in the house Mark get frightened because it was two of them and he never know what they up to. But I want them pick up the girlfriend because she set this up.”
Paul Lopez
“Why would you say the girlfriend set it up?”
Voice of: Mother of Mark Avilez
“Because she text him and told him to please bring food for ah. And, my son say something when they step in, dah this you mek I come to. I really want something done about this. I really want talk to the commissioner , I want to speak to him because the officers are not doing their job right and I will not stop push until I get justice.”
Police confirmed today that fifty-nine-year-old Linbert Flowers was murdered. He was stabbed to death by another man on Monday morning in Belize City. At the time, police were not sure how Flowers died. But, subsequent investigations revealed that he had been stabbed several times over an affair he was having with a woman.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “We have sent the statements and what we have to the DPP. The DPPs are waiting the postmortem examination. We have confirmed that he was stabbed by someone inside the house. Another man inside the house. And so based on the evidence that we have at this time, the person, the other man, as well as the lady, were released from custody pending the postmortem, at which time the DPP will be able to give us a statement a definitive answer if we’re going to charge and if yes, what the charge is going to be.”
A large amount of cash was stolen from Westrac in Orange Walk. The crime was discovered this morning by an employee who realized that there was a break-in. The employee observed that the building had been ransacked and that a window was broken. He found that over seventy-one thousand dollars was missing from a safe and up to fifteen thousand was taken from the cashier’s drawers. It is believed that the burglars entered the compound by cutting a hole in the fence.
Police have charged forty-one-year-old Maynor Rene Ancona for the death of American national Jennifer Lynn Griffith. Ancona was charged with manslaughter by negligence. Police Commissioner Chester Williams confirmed to reporters today that Griffith died after being hit conch shell in the head. According to the Police Commissioner, Chester Williams, Ancone reportedly threw the conch shell by mistake during a brawl that took place in San Pedro Town over the weekend.
Following the fight, Griffith was taken to the San Pedro Polyclinic that night and a test was prescribed for her head injuries, but she reportedly refused and left the clinic. But by morning, Griffith was in such bad shape and in so much pain that she returned to the clinic. Unfortunately by that time, it was too late. Minister Perez said that Griffith’s refusal to receive medical assistance was perhaps as bad as the incidents themselves.
Via phone: Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“That is what I was told as well from the authorities is that she refused. She checked out herself. And for information, there is a brand new hospital there. It’s a private hospital, of course, in San Pedro that provides quality service in terms of CT scans, X rays and everything. And everything there was recommended and told by the hospital. And this person refused. So that’s another matter to be looking at again. I will not comment anymore on that because there is a police investigation that needs to carry on with that. So it’s an unfortunate incident.”
Two men have been charged with the murder of Dylan Anthony. They are twenty-nine-year-old Hugh Middleton and eighteen-year-old Marlon Gideon. Investigators believe that the two men fatally shot PC Anthony on the Roaring Creek Bridge on March twenty-third. PC Anthony was on his motorcycle heading home to Camalote Village when he was murdered. He was mistaken for another individual and targeted. Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters on Monday that Gideon was the driver and Middleton was the pillion rider. The Compol explained that Middleton and Gideon, along with the intended target, are all currently at the Belize Central Prison under the State of Emergency.
Thirty-three-year-old Lincoln Bejerano has been convicted of murder. The High Court found that Bejerano murdered taxi driver Isidro Suar in January of 2016. He had been on the run for two years after he escaped from police custody in Belmopan in October 2016. He was later listed on Interpol’s most-wanted list. He was captured by Guatemalan authorities in 2019. The body of Isidro Suar was found on the George Price Boulevard. He had been shot to death. Bejerano now awaits sentencing.
Recently, a video depicting a man being physically assaulted by two men went viral. In the video, a young man with dreadlocks was depicted beating up another before another man joined in to assist in holding down the assailant. The victim of the assault has been identified as Mark Avilez. The footage also shows that, during the assault, a toilet bowl was thrown at Avilez. The incident occurred on March thirtieth but was not reported until a week later. The perpetrator has since been identified as thirty-year-old Emmerson Garnett, who was arraigned for two counts of common assault, to which he pleaded. As Garnett was a first-time offender for a violent offence, he was imposed a fine of five hundred five dollars, including cost of court, which he was given until July fourth to pay in default of three months’ imprisonment. Garnett explained why he pleaded guilty.
Emerson Garnett, Guilty of Common Assault
“The reason why I plead guilty da because I noh wa waste the court time and I noh wa waste my time because I goy my job an di noh want lose my job same way to. You understand?”
Reporter
“You know in my view, you watched the video. You saw the video, right?”
Emerson Garnett
“Yeah, I saw the video.”
Reporter
“The video look like you? That person look like you?”
Emerson Garnett
“The person noh look like me but end of the day da me so I wat ek the weight of what come my way. You understand? Once I do something, I noh mind tek the weight of it tek the consequences weh come behind it. Besides that, once I neva do it, I just mi ah plead not guilty but I noh want waste the court time because I know I do it. So I just wat ek the weight of what come my way because I know I do it.”
Reporter
“You were charged with common assault, the magistrate questioned the charge.”
Emmerson Garnett
“Yeah.”
Reporter
“You believe that was common assault?”
Emerson Garnett
“Yeah because I noh use no weapon or nothing like that. I just slap the person. I just slap the person about three or four times.”
Reporter
“How about the bowl?”
Emerson Garnett
“I noh really want to talk about that part.”
Reporter
“But at the end of the day, did the virtual compliant want any court action?”
Emerson Garnett
“Well from the time they mek the report and thing and they charge me, it look like da mi wa court action ney wa so I noh mi wa waste the court time, waste my time, waste nobody time. So I just plead guilty. You understand.”
Twenty-five-year-old Jose Fuentes was arraigned today for allegedly choking his mother during a fight on Saturday at their residence near mile twenty on the George Price Highway. Fuentes initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault. He told the court that he wasn’t in his right mind because he was drunk. He later changed his plea to guilty, but despite his plea, the magistrate emphasised that intoxication does not excuse violent behaviour and reminded Fuentes of the seriousness of his actions. He was fined two hundred dollars plus a five-dollar court fee. He is expected to pay the fine by May fifteenth. He was bound over to keep the peace with his mother for one year, with a warning that any violation would result in a three-month jail term.
Officials of the Belize Cycling Federation, cyclists, and cycling enthusiasts were stunned Saturday morning to learn of the Friday night murder of thirty-eight-year-old Wilbert Banks Junior. The father of one was shot dead before midnight on Friday night on Lake Garden Road in Ladyville. Police say they responded to the report of the killing around eleven-thirty-five Friday night and found a dark Toyota Rav-Four crashed into a bungalow house. Inside the vehicle, Banks was already dead. By Sunday night, police had already charged another man with the homicide as they piece together the motive behind the killing. Banks, by all accounts, was an important part of the cycling world, providing transportation for the coverage of the cycling federation’s events. Described as a humble man who was willing to help anyone who needed it, Banks was the motorcycle driver for Andrew Ordonez, who covered the Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. And on Sunday, Ordonez and the federation held a ride that drew over two hundred riders in his memory. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
This bullet-riddled Toyota Rav-4 is where thirty-eight-year-old Wilbert Banks Jr., met his death sometime around eleven-thirty on Friday night. Banks, who worked at Ordonez Bike Shop and assisted the Belize Cycling Federation with transportation duties for the coverage of cycling events, was driving along the Lake Garden Road in Ladyville when someone opened fire on his vehicle, hitting him several times and killing him. The severely wounded Banks lost control of the vehicle, which tore down a portion of a fence before it slammed into a house. One of the occupants of the house told News Five off-camera that she was concerned that the vehicle would explode.
Voice of: Lake Garden Resident
Voice of: Lake Garden Resident
“I mi just get up fi use the bathroom and gwein back eena wa doze when I hear the shots fire. Usually we hear it, ih normal. So we she da mussi on the main and one minute after, the vehicle slam into the house. When we open the window, I say probably that one of my bus get it, and I look at nothing. And my husband come out in the hall and as he open the window he see the vehicle. I called my mom weh live eena Lord’s Bank area and she come, and the guys, weh come with her call fi assistance. But we couldn’t do nothing because the man was already motionless. The vehicle was still on, his foot was on the gas, and probably the radiator leaked out all the water. And it made all the smoke, so we were afraid and the guys shut down the vehicle before it exploded or something catch fire.”
Chrismar Espinoza
Police investigations have revealed that the murder was the result of a three-way love affair between a woman and the two men, the deceased and the accused. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told the media today that investigators discovered the woman’s cell phone at the crime scene, and that led them to their suspect.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Searches were conducted by the police in the city area to locate the woman whose phone was found on the scene. The woman was subsequently found along with another male person who happened to be her common-law-husband, who has been identified as one Chrismar Espinoza. Chrismar Espinoza has been convicted of murder before and on appeal, his murder conviction was reduced to manslaughter and recently got released from prison. It is our understanding through the investigation that prior to him going to prison, he was with the woman and when he went to prison, she had an affair with the now deceased. And when he came out of prison, he got back with the woman and, Chrismar found out of her affair with the now deceased and based on that he went and committed the crime against Mr. Banks.”
Banks, also known as Yellow, played a major role in the cycling world. He provided transportation for the live coverages that the Belize Cycling Federation held – his last such role being the Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. And on Sunday, Banks’ employer, Andrew Ordonez and the federation held a ride against violence in memory of him, as well as in memory of Banks’ brothers Kadeem Banks and Edison Usher who lost their lives two years ago while going to cover the Female Cross Country race. The riders were touched by Banks’ murder and turned out en masse to ride against violence.
Leticia Westby
Leticia Westby, General Secretary, Cycling Federation of Belize
“We are shocked. Everybody’s shocked in reference to what has happened. We know that there’s a real increase in gun violence in Belize, and we find that sports should be an alternative.”
Andrew Ordonez
Andrew Ordonez, Employer of Wilbert Banks Jr.
“We want your awareness to gun violence. In this latest case we were supposed to have a ride in memory of his brother, Kadeem Banks and Edison Usher, who lost their lives almost two years ago, right? And we were supposed to have that ride, but this incident happened, and it shocked the whole – the entire Belize – a big part of the world. He was a humble giant. You could ask him to do anything, so he’s not only an employee to me or a friend he’s like a son.”
Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis, Friend of Wilbert Banks Jr.
“Things like that [should] never happen to a man like that. And you know something, a lot of cyclists, they shoot them by a gun. Cyclists, they should never go like that. Remember Elbert Pope gone, Jawmeighan gone, everybody start to go and buy a gun.”
Gabrielle Gabourel
Gabrielle Gabourel, Friend of Wilbert Banks Jr.
“He was very involved in the sport. You come to Donez’ shop, he’s here helping to service the bikes. He’s out every race, helping with the live streams. And so he was very involved. It hurts the cycling community a lot to lose someone like him.”
Dwayne Wade
Dwayne Wade, Friend of Wilbert Banks Jr
“I just want to urge the whole public, man, honestly, think with love. Once you think with love, everything will be alright. Because You are walking away from a conflict.”
The ride went through the John Smith Link Road, where Banks’ only child, his daughter, Auriyah Banks, went to see the ride that was being ridden in memory of her father. At the end of the ride in front of his father’s residence on Euphrates Avenue, Wilbert Banks Senior, overcome by grief, told us off-camera that now he has no son because both of them are dead. His brother, Frederick Banks, who rode in memory of his nephew, told News Five that the family is now grieving two brothers.
Frederick Banks
Frederick Banks, Uncle of Wilbert Banks
“This coming week will be two years since my next nephew died, right? So now the two of them die on the same month, you know, so it’s like very hard for the family and my brother who’s their father, you know. And we do this ride today to make everybody know that we are tired of the violence. We are tired of people killing people for no reason. My little nephew nuh hurt nobody. He’s friend to everybody. Everybody know him as a calm person. He doesn’t even talk hard to nobody, you know. It’s very hard for our family right now, but we will pull through it.”
The ride had the participation of several children cyclists, some of them not even ten years old. Marion Ali for News Five.
