Kendis Flowers Taken Out But Who is Responsible for Gang Leader’s Death?
Kendis Flowers
The carnage wouldn’t let up in the bloodiest weekend ever, when the well-known gang leader of the Mayflower/Ghost Town area, Kendis Flowers, was executed in Back-a-Town. Police have refuted any involvement in the execution and say that Flowers was followed when he left a nightclub after two a.m. on Saturday. A confrontation occurred with rival gang members; Flowers was fatally shot and another, Tyric Pitts was injured to the foot. Flowers’ family, however, maintains his murder was staged. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Around three a.m. on Saturday morning, twenty-six-year-old Kendis Flowers, a well known figure from the Mayflower/Ghost Town area was executed in rival gang territory on Mahogany Street, near its intersection with Sittee Street. According to police, the murder stems from an early altercation between Flowers and another gang figure at a popular nightclub on Newtown Barracks.
Alejandro Cowo
ASP Alejandro Cowo, O.C., C.I.B., Belize City Police
“Police visited about a hundred feet from the corner of Sittee Street and Mahogany Street on the left hand side of the street, in front of a garage, police observed the motionless body of a male person lying face up holding a firearm on his chest. The person was identified as Kendis Flowers, a Belizean of #5 Mayflower Street. What we understand is that Mister Flowers along with others were at a nightclub on the north side where a dispute ensued between him and other persons. As a result he left from the nightclub and apparently he was being followed and some altercation happened between them at Mahogany Street which ended with him being fatally wounded. During the shootout, another male person who was along with him, Tyric Pitts, suffered a gunshot injury to his foot. He was treated and was released.”
The family says that they are yet to receive an official visit or information from the police and they have unanswered questions. Kadejah Barrera is claiming police involvement in the murder of her brother because of a picture that was circulated through social media in the immediate aftermath of the killing. Aside from inconsistencies between the picture and when the family arrived on the scene minutes later, Barrera say that the story just doesn’t add up.
Voice of: Kadejah Barrera, Sister of Deceased
“The picture weh dehn di circulate with dehn when I reach the scene and I see my bredda down there, he mi clean—yes he had the shot ina ih head, but the picture weh dehn have, some police or either dehn bally from back there take the picture before and send that around because he neva had wa gun pan e weh the police Whylie and dehn di state say about a gun. We never see the gun there; when we reach there, no gun neva deh pan he. This thing look staged the way how he mi deh down there. When I see ahn, ih had wah shot ina ih hand like yo know when dehn freeze somebody and yo hand dehn back ah yo head, the shot…that hand deh deh soh. They set ahn down good. I mean he have fi he slipper nice and neat pan fi he foot, everything. They had we di wait wah long time. They said dehn mi di process the scene, but I noh know weh dehn mi di process because no yellow tape neva deh out there and dehn neva mi di do nothing; they just di stand up there di watch. And deh neva want make we go close to ahn and see ahn or nothing.”
While the family believes that police officers were involved in the murder, Assistant Superintendent of Police Alejandro Cowo say that the evidence collected so far does not support that theory. Surveillance footage from the area has also been retrieved by the police, which it is believed captured the murder.
Kendis Flowers
ASP Alejandro Cowo
“I was on the scene and I will tell you that that incident happened there. We have interviewed several persons that were along with him and we have recorded statements from them to corroborate what we have said earlier.”
Voice of: Kadejah Barrera
“Even if dah dehn street figure, we know police have something fi do with it too. Yo have so much police weh threaten ahn and tell ahn dehn wah kill ahn. Yo have this well known gang leader weh send wah message to ahn to some of his colleagues dah Boom La Ruta Maya weh tell ahn fi tell Kendis dehn wah kill ahn.”
Two persons are currently detained in connection with the gang-related murder of Flowers. It is not known if the firearm found on his body had been discharged as the police await ballistic tests. ASP Cowo further explains the retrieval of a gun at the scene.
ASP Alejandro Cowo
“I am not in a position to tell you right away if it was used during the shooting, but after the ballistic test is done then you can verify that. Yes, the firearm that was found had a live round on top of his leg and there was a magazine containing other rounds inside of it; a live one on the chamber likewise. But the shells that were recovered, I cannot tell you if it was from his firearm or from the other person until we do a comparison.”
News Five last spoke with Flowers back in July of 2017, following a citywide ceasefire organized by ACP Chester Williams, Dianne Finnegan and ‘Jawhi.’
Kendis Flowers
Kendis Flowers [July 21st, 2017]
“We nuh have no problem if the police come and do deh job, we just nuh want no brutality from none ah the officers deh or things like that, yuh know? Conduct search – we nuh have no problem with that. Yuh nuh have to rough we up like no ‘guana or ma’kala because all ah we dah human. Deal with we like human. Stop, do yuh search and that nuh wah be wah problem If yuh find something illegal and ih wah tek we in then yuh know – if you got a charge that dah weh laid out on the table we understand that.”
Andrea Polanco
“What about from gang to gang; are you still committed in maintaining that peace?”
Kendis Flowers
“Well, as far as I know we the hold fi we peace. I know certain gang areas di hold deh peace check, but this dah weh we di uplift fi we self with. We di keep fi we peace.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
