Hide & Seek Bar’s Owner is Gunned Down – Almost 4 Years after He was Targeted
Darrel Bermudez Laurie
The usually popular Hide & Seek in the Bushes Bar and Chill Spot is a recreational establishment but three nights ago it became the scene of a murder. Businessman, father of two, and well-known Dangriga resident Darrel Bermudez Laurie was gunned down inside his business on Friday evening. Bermudez-Laurie once lived in the U.S.A., but was deported to Belize a few years ago. Police say they don’t know why Bermudez-Laurie was killed but they don’t believe robbery was the motive. What we do know is that someone wanted Laurie dead from as way back as four years ago. He was shot several times when a passerby found him clinging to life and he was rushed to the hospital. Today his family told News Five that they don’t know why he was killed and neither do they know if the attempt on his life in 2016 is connected to his murder. Reporter Andrea Polanco tells us more in the following story.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Thirty-two-year-old Darrel Glenford Bermudez Laurie was shot to death inside his business on Melinda Road in the Wageirale area in Dangriga. Bermudez-Laurie was alone inside the Hide & Seek Bar and Chill Spot when two men approached him around six-thirty on Friday evening and one of them shot him to the head. He was already dead when police arrived on the scene. ACP Joseph Myvett says that investigators don’t have a motive for this killing as yet.
Joseph Myvett
ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch
“What the police know so far is that he seemingly was alone shortly after six-thirty or thereabouts when he approached by two male persons whom rode up on bicycles and one of those persons apparently fired those shots at him before leaving the area. So far we don’t have anyone detained but we are still trying to establish a motive.”
Reporter
“But clearly robbery wasn’t a motive?”
ACP Joseph Myvett
“Not from what was gathered at the scene.”
Reporter
“Is there any known drug element in this?”
ACP Joseph Myvett
“Not at this time but we are following all information being given in relation to this case.”
Today, Bermudez-Laurie’s family says they don’t know why he was killed. Julia Swaso is his grandmother. He visited her home on Friday morning and less than twelve hours later she got the message that he was dead.
Julia Swaso
Julia Swaso, Grandmother of Deceased
“That same day, dah morning he come because sometime we nuh see him until Sunday.”
Andrea Polanco
“What kind of mood was he in, did he seem worried, anything?”
Julia Swaso
“Oh he was in a good mood and so on.”
Andrea Polanco
“He didn’t seem worried – to say that something is wrong or somebody is after him?”
Julia Swaso
“No. No. No. I only hear things out there but he nuh tell we nothing.”
A black bow hangs on the front door of the Hide & Seek Chill Spot. It’s a small business that he was operating for a little over a year and a half. His family says that he worked hard to build his business. For the Bermudez/Laurie families this place will be a stark reminder that their loved one’s dream was cut short.
Sharon Rivas
Sharon Rivas, Cousin of Deceased
“That dah weh he mi want. His ma and his pa help him out to do that business there.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, he spent most of his nights and days over there?”
Sharon Rivas
“Yes. Yes. He did. He just I wah mek it lee bigger and go fry wings and suh.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, he had big plans for the business?”
Sharon Rivas
“Yes he had big plans for the business. He tell his ma that he wanted a deep fryer and she sacrificed and got it for him. When he came here on Friday he said that he just started to put chairs behind the business; more chairs so people could sit and eat or whatever.”
Julia Swaso raised her grandson for many years. She says that she knew him to be loving and mannerly but she can’t give account for when he wasn’t at home. She is still trying to come to terms with this tragedy that has hit her family.
Julia Swaso
“He is a nice person. He is a cool guy. He is a loving grandson. He nuh trouble nobody, as far as I know. But every Sunday, like yesterday, I think bout mi grandson because he wah come fi his Sunday dinner and that would be the only time I see him.”
Andrea Polanco
“How are you processing this news, Ms. Julia, that he was killed so callously inside his business?”
Julia Swaso
“It’s a sad thing for me because I was here and it was from Cayo my daughter-in-law called me and told me, ‘yuh the sit down? Weh part yuh deh?’ I tell ah yes and why what happened. She told me that she just got the news that deh kill Darrel. I said, ‘what?’ so it get to me. It was a sudden thing for me and I only the try cope with it now.”
Next month would have marked four years since an attempt was first made on Bermudez-Laurie’s life. He was once a taxi-driver in Dangriga. And in February 2016, he was driving on the Southern Highway when someone fired shots at his car and he was hit multiple times. A passerby found him on the highway fighting for his life and he was rushed to the hospital.
Julia Swaso
“Nearly going four years, indeed. Four years February right here.”
Andrea Polanco
“You don’t feel maybe these same people have returned to finish what they started?”
Julia Swaso
“I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Sharon Rivas
“It really touched me.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, you still haven’t processed what has happened?”
Sharon Rivas
“No. No. I still nuh process it.It hard, though. It hard. The first time he got shot four years ago, dah me feed ah with the syringe. Dah me bathe ah. Dah mi cousin and dah mi baby.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
