A sixty-seven-year-old man was bludgeoned to death inside the Roaring Creek cemetery. Just after six a.m. today, police discovered the lifeless body of Benito Cal next to a tomb with his bicycle flung across him. He had severe injuries to the face. An initial investigation reveals that whoever killed Cal, struck him in the face several times with a concrete block. Cal had relatives living in an area behind the cemetery. He frequently traveled through the graveyard to visit them. We spoke with one relative off camera who told us that she last saw Cal around three p.m. on Wednesday. She described him as a hardworking and kind individual who troubled no one.
Voice of: Relative of Deceased
Voice of: Relative of Deceased
“Grandpa, he is a cool man. That is all I can say. He been around we. I call him gramps. Everyday he around us. Everyday I see him. He go see my kids around school and give them a little snack. And then he wait for us after school by the Chinese and he still buy snacks for us and anywhere he go he see people and just give them helping hand, give them dollar, whatever he got he give them. He buy food. That man is a good man. He is a cool, cool grandpa. He is well known in the community. He is a family man I won’t say nothing bad because he is around me too long and he is a family man. I don’t know what happened or who could ever do that to an old man, a sixty-seven-year-old man. What can I say, I don’t know. Actually they called me and they told me this morning that grandpa is dead you know and I went immediately to see and I found him there lying on the ground. I went to see him, I witnessed him. So, that is where I found out that is my grandpa.”
Paul Lopez
“As far as you know, he is not a trouble maker.”
Voice of: Relative of Deceased
“No he is not a trouble maker. He is a very cool old man. Everybody knows that and everybody knows that right now everybody say that is a good man. Why they do that to him.”
Reporter
“He was found in the Cemetry, was that a path he took?”
Voice of: Relative of Deceased
“Sometimes, many times he tool the long road but I don’t know what caused him to go that way that day. I don’t know what happened.”
Today, a man was found guilty of eight counts of firearm offenses and burglary for a weapons heist that took place in February 2019. Randy Chambers, along with an accomplice later identified as Selvin Linarez, was charged with burglarizing Victor L. Bryant on Lake Independence Boulevard. Together, they made off with several firearms and were subsequently charged with firearm offenses. But today, Linarez pleaded guilty and on Friday, the sitting Senior Magistrate will sentence both men. Back in 2019 Linarez was charged with five counts of keeping a firearm without a gun license for which he was found guilty today. Linarez had pleaded guilty to the burglary charge only. Chambers maintains his innocence but was found guilty today after months of trial. Both men were unrepresented.
Today, a mother, son and a family friend were handed separate charges for an incident involving thousands of dollars in stolen jewelry. It is reported that on June seventh, eighteen-year-old Christian Denver Ramos robbed nineteen-year-old Eric Vernon at gunpoint in the Kings Park area of Belize City, making off with a variety of items including jewelry, an iPhone, and cash, summing up to two thousand, nine hundred and eighteen dollars in value. Ramos pleaded not guilty to robbery, however, his mother, Genevieve Coleman, and nineteen-year-old Elsworth Talbert pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods. Coleman told the court that she took the items to the pawn shop but didn’t know that they were stolen until afterwards. Coleman claims that she got the items from her son, Ramos, who reportedly told her that he found the items. When asked why she didn’t take the items to the police station since her son claimed he found them, she said quote, At the time I had no money and I needed to buy things for the kids because they were hungry, end quote. For their guilty pleas, Coleman and Talbert were imposed non-custodial sentences of fines of one thousand dollars each, plus a five-dollar cost of court which they both must pay. Coleman must pay her fines by December fifteenth, 2024, while Talbert must pay his fines by September fifteenth, 2024 in default both will spend one year imprisonment.
Earlier today, a video depicting a minor being harassed and assaulted by a group of his peers began circulating on social media. In this video, a male youth is seen being followed by at least four male individuals hurling insults for several minutes before punching him in the face. The group then continues to follow him. In response to this video, Commissioner of police Chester Williams released a statement condemning the act and assuring the public that police have intervened in the situation. In his statement, Williams says, ” please note that police are addressing this situation. An official report has been lodged with the police and the boys doing the bullying are in custody.” He further explains that the police are going to be working with the parents of the individuals involved and their schools so that this incident does not reoccur. Williams advises parents to monitor their children’s activity and notes that behaviors such as these are how gangs emerge.
One Belize City family is tonight seeking answers after a police officer entered their property and shot their nursing dog. Brendalee Riverol says three officers visited her home on Wednesday evening seeking the whereabouts of her son. They were reportedly in the presence of a young man who claimed that he gave Riverol’s son five hundred dollars and a motorbike to fix several months ago, and he has not heard from him since. According to Riverol, her son was not home at the time. The officers reportedly searched the property, but they did not find the motorbike the young man claimed to be his. The officers later left the property, but not without first critically injuring their dog that delivered ten pups thirteen days ago. Brendalee Riverol and her daughter, Royanne Riverol, told us more.
Brendalee Riverol
Brendalee Riverol, Supal Street Resident
“So I said officer, he said let me go back there to check. I said officer we have a dog back there and ih just have puppy. He said well go hold him or tie him. I said I can’t hold her or tie her because I don’t want her to bite me. The dog is not an aggressive dog, dah wah very disciplined mannerly dog, just like human. Whatever you tell him she will do. Ih come to the other side of the yard and gone to the back. The dog come out because ih hear ruction outside and ih know somebody strange in the yard so she come out and started to bark. So I sih ih put ih hand to the side and I said, you nuh wah do what I think you will do. Then he shot the dog and I said to officer you actually shoot my dog in front of me. I said come on mien, you senseless. I said how you could be so reckless and trigger happy. So he come out and the two officers standing there, the officers said the dog attack the officer. I said no, unu liad the dog did not attack the officer and my neighbor was upstairs looking out and started to shout. He said, mien that dog just have puppy and the lady tell unu. They said, oh you get back in your yard, mine your own business one of the lady officer told ah. Mine your own business. No, that is everybody’s business.”
Royanne Riverol
Royanne Riverol, Supal Street Resident
“From ever since Nipsey came into our lives, I never find a dog more living, caring attached on to kids like that. Nipssey goes everywhere like that and she never bothers anybody. We not even lash this dog or anything like that. This dog dah more of a human to we than an actual dog. I had to rush her, I rush her to Animal Medical Centre and upon rushing her she was losing a lot of blood. We nearly lost her. Right now, she is in critical condition, stable but critical, but we can’t find exactly where the bullet is. And, she is bleeding a lot, she has distressed breathing. This is uncalled for, to let an officer come in our home like this and come with that rage to just shoot a dog like that. You come and ask the right question and don’t come without a paper in your hand, a warrant of sort.”
Reporter
“And clearly what they were looking for is not here”
The Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry has begun its work. Hugh O’Brien, the Lead Coordinator of the Commission of Inquiry, informed News Five that the commission has met with B.S.I. He explained that the company has been very open to the process thus far. He further noted that the commission has also received a presentation from Santander and that they had scheduled meetings with the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association today. Here is what he told us.
Hugh O’Brien
Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry
“The ambience between the people that the commissioners have met, particularly, we’ve sat down, we spent a day and a half with BSI. That went extremely well. BSI was very, very open. They shared their ideas, information that they had with them and various components of the factory and how the factory operates and their overall program and their views for the industry in terms of what they see is needed for Belize from their perspective. And then the tour of the factory with BSI went extremely well. And then the following day, the second day they did a tour of field activities, BSI’s operations at the field level, their farms and the services that they are with a view from their perspective that they have in mind. That they can contribute towards helping to modernize the industry in Belize. The commissioners have not yet met with the association. This morning, in fact, while I was doing an interview there with CTV3 and their talk show, they are calling me because currently they are meeting with the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association at the SIRDE office in Buena Vista. The commissioners also yesterday did a complete, they received a presentation from Santander which have a very different structure and they’ve toured the Santander factory, and they also had a complete tour of the Santander fields of sugar cane. So, they’re getting a good view and a good handle of what is, what is occurring in Belize. Before that, they had presentations from the staff at the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute. They had a presentations and discussion with the sugarcane production committee because the way sugar is delivered in the north is very different than the west and is a very intricate system in the north because of the large number of small farmers and people battling to try to get their sugar into the factory. So, I have to say that both B.S.I. and Santander so far is going quite well.”
As we have reported, the B.S.I. has placed on record that it cannot share proprietary and confidential information. O’Brien says that following their meetings with industry stakeholders, the commission will be putting together a list of documents that it will be requesting from stakeholders, including B.S.I. He noted that the commission operates with a degree of legal authority to request information it believes will assist them in their deliberations.
Hugh O’Brien
Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry
“B.S.I. have made their concerns public. They’ve issued a public release. One of the statements that they have made, I will say categorically, is false. The commission has never changed its focus. The terms of reference of the commission of inquiry, it was drafted and there were concerns that B.S.I. raised. That’s when I kind of got involved and the prime minister asked me to, and I said, we’ve had discussions with B.S.I. They sent back recommendations from their standpoint, and we made adjustments to the terms of reference, but we never gave in to what B.S.I. wanted. The terms of reference was modified, tweaked, but has remained with the same initial structure. B.S.I. obviously is concerned in their view that some of the aspects that are required by the commissioners to do, for example, to look at costings of some components of the processing side, manufacturing costs, the bagging and those costs that are in B.S.I.’s view is a private arrangement between them and the cane farmers association and should not be subject to any external opinion and views because they have. That’s their territory. They might be correct, but legally speaking, we’ll see how that play out. But if the commissioners ask and they want to see that information, the commissioners, a commission of inquiry has great deal of power. And I think that’s why I probably, why it might not be wise for B.S.I. also to make public statements because let the commissioners make the request and let’s see if they, maybe if they don’t ask for it, who knows? So making the statements might be mute if they ask for it and you don’t provide it. Then we’ll see how that plays out in a in a legal scenario as far as I am aware right now the commissioners have taken a very different approach. They want it to be as participatory as possible. So that they understand quite well a bit different than other commissions of inquiry. Nobody will be taken to court and be charged and so on. So they understand quite well that they are really only putting together concrete recommendations. It will then be for the government of the day, whether it is P.U.P. or U.D.P. or whoever, which P for them to make the final decision, cabinet to make policy decisions and the house to make legal changes to the act.”
The commission has a deadline of November thirtieth to complete its report.
Prime Minister John Briceño has also chimed in on B.S.I.’s firmly held position that it will not surrender confidential company documents to the commission. He says that it comes as no surprise; however, the commissioners that are empanelled are aptly qualified to carry out the inquiry into the sugar industry.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Well I think any private company can make whatever statement they believe is in their interest and they’ve been saying it from day one that certain information they are not going to or are not prepared to provide. So it’s no surprise. What is important though is that the commissioners that we got are highly qualified and they are very skilled in what they are doing and they believe that they will be able to come up with a report within the allotted, I think it’s six months. They believe that they can do it before then.”
Last week, we asked the Minister of Agriculture if the cost of sugar will increase to compete with prices in neighboring Guatemala and Mexico. He told us that B.S.I. has been requesting the increase, but they have not provided any justification for it. So, the Cabinet is yet to decide whether it will take that route to combat sugar smuggling. Well, Hugh O’Brien, the Lead Coordinator for the Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry, believes that a sugar price increase is the perfect solution.
Hugh O’Brien
Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry
“I mean the solution, the perfect solution to that will be a price adjustment, but that’s not an easy thing. And my own views on that is very different than a bit on the prime minister and my minister. To me, in my view, we should just allow sugar to be sold. Well, one, increase the price a little bit for the sugar that you have in the small bags. Plus this, what the Chinese man package and put in their small bags. And then you have, sugar that B.S.I. and Santander are allowed to produce and package nicely and properly labeled and have it with whatever stickers and beautiful coloring and whatever they want to put and have that sold for whatever price people are prepared to pay for it. Have two sugar in the local market that way there’ll be never be a sugar shortage.”
It’s been almost a decade since the Sheep and Goat Project was introduced in Belize by the Republic of China, Taiwan and Belize’s Ministry of Agriculture with the goal of expanding the sheep and goat industry and the project is still going strong. The sheep industry, while not comparable to Belize’s cattle industry in terms of consumption has displayed growth since the inception of the project and is still working its way up in numbers. In tonight’s episode of Belize on Reel, we take you to the Central Farm Agricultural Station in Cayo, where we learned why this project was implemented in Belize and how it has impacted the industry. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that story.
Britney Gordon, reporting
How many sheep do you think are in Belize currently? One thousand? Five thousand? Or perhaps a hundred thousand? In 2015, a head count indicated that there were ten thousand sheep officially in the country. And now, almost a decade later, that number has almost doubled to eighteen thousand sheep. At the Central Farm Agricultural Station, in Cayo, this small but important industry is thriving. And while lamb may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a meal in Belize, for many farmers, their livelihoods depend on it. Elder Quewell, Field Manager of the Belize Sheep and Goat Project, tells us how the team has been working to get the industry going in the country.
Elder Quewell
Elder Quewell, Field Manager
“The main objective is basically to provide farmers with pure bred sheep and goat so that they can improve their stocks.”
Britney Gordon
“So it’s to diversify the stocks that they have and have it be better quality. How has this affected the sheep industry in Belize?”
Elder Quewell
“It has for example, it has increased the consumption, for example, from the starting point of the industry It was, consumption was zero point two nine and has incremented to one pound presently consumption of this. And it is continuing to expand as people get familiarized with the with the sheep.”
The consumption rate of sheep in Belize has tripled from zero point two nine pounds to one pound per person. But this change has occurred over a timespan of almost a decade. Quewell says that while the project is succeeding in growing the industry, he hopes that farmers would be able to access more opportunities as the industry continues to expand.
Britney Gordon
“Have you seen success in this project? Do people know about it? Are you seeing improvements in the breeds that people have?”
Elder Quewell
“Yes, there are improvements, however there has to be more opportunities given to the farmers as well, right? Because if they are able to produce good quality, they also need to provide a doorway so that they can have access to market.”
Britney Gordon
“Do you anticipate this project will continue to grow? What’s the future looking like for this project?”
Elder Quewell
“From my perception I can see that people here in Belize are starting to familiarize with the consumption, right? And there is where the demand starts. So I’m thinking that if we put the initiative and we put more focus into what is the ship, then that will be part of what will be more expansion.”
Aside from the sale of pure-bred sheep and goats, the team also assists farmers to better their stock through training sessions on how to prepare the feed for the animals, vaccinate and tag them and even how to properly prepare the meat in various dishes such as curry lamb. The preparation of this dish is taught to Belizeans across the country. The funding for this project came from the Republic of China, Taiwan, that has been a partner in this initiative since its inception in 2015. Next year, the Taiwanese government will be moving on to fund a different project. Benjamin Ma, a Sheep Project Specialist, tells us that giving Belize’s Sheep industry the opportunity to grow has been an important endeavor.
Benjamin Ma
Benjamin Ma, Sheep Project Specialist
“The Taiwan government is mostly funding this project and provide new technical to the sheep project. And I think mostly we are doing the breeding program more, because in Belize we don’t have the pure breed much so win this farm we provide one hundred percent pure. Three breeds, Katahdin, BBB, and the other Dorper.”
To ensure that the farmers have access to high quality sheep, the animals must be well taken care of. And for farmhand Misael Gonzalez, the wellbeing of these animals is a primary concern. He explains how the sheep are fed, vaccinated, groomed and loved by the workers.
Misael Gonzalez
Misael Gonzalez, Farmhand
“In the morning when we come here and take a walk to check the barn, see if any animal is good, any animal is injured or something. And then we get the feed, which is here, grass, which we go harvest outside. So we get the feed and we start feeding in the morning before that. Then we check the water trough, the water from them, see if it is clean or it needs clean. If it’s dirty, we wash it and we clean it and everything. And then we milk the babies because they can’t drink from their mom or something. We milk them and that’s all. We just take care of the rest.”
The job includes a list of responsibilities, however, Gonzalez says that being able to bond with the animals and help Belizean farmers gain access to quality sheep make the job fulfilling.
Britney Gordon
“Do you enjoy doing your job?
Misael Gonzalez
“Yeah, I enjoy it when I’m giving milk. Like the babies, they follow you and things like that. I just enjoy working here.”
Britney Gordon
“So why do you think that this job is important?”
Misael Gonzalez
“This job is important because we help other farmers to get better breeds, to get better sheep. Let’s say if they want, they don’t have a type of breed, we can sell them and give it to them so they get better breeds and things.”
The industry still has a long way to go, nonetheless, it is on the way to becoming an integral part of Belize’s agriculture industry. Britney Gordon for News Five.
