Rafael Caceres’ Killer is Arraigned and Remanded

A father was tragically killed in the Faber’s Road area, caught in the crossfire of a gang rivalry. Within days, police arrested and charged the alleged shooter, thirty-one-year-old Lawrence Anthony Polonio, also known as ‘Makala,’ a laborer from Faber’s Road. This morning, around nine, Polonio was escorted to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he was read a single charge of murder at 9:42 in Court #1. Polonio is accused of murdering forty-one-year-old Rafael Caceres, a father of four, who was gunned down at home on Sunday, March ninth, 2025. Polonio, who appeared unrepresented before Chief Magistrate Jayani Wegodapola, did not enter a plea. Due to the severity of the charge, he was denied bail and remanded to the Belize Central Prison until May thirteenth, 2025. On that fateful Sunday, Caceres was resting on a sofa at the entrance of his home after coming back from work. As he slept, a gunman ran up the stairway and opened fire, despite Caceres’ three-year-old daughter standing just a foot away. The gunman fled the scene, leaving Caceres fatally wounded. His common-law wife, who was inside the house, heard the shots and saw the shooter but couldn’t stop him. Police believe Caceres, who was not involved in gang activities, was not the intended target. He became a casualty when the gunman couldn’t find his brothers, who had been detained the day before due to the gang rivalry in the area. Rafael, however, was not part of the gang issue.