Jeweler Manuel Pacheco Gets Off Murder Charge

Manuel Pacheco

Belize City jeweler, Manuel Pacheco this morning walked out of the Supreme Court a free man after he was found not guilty of the murder of his next-door neighbour, Jose Manuel Villanueva.  In acquitting Pacheco, Supreme Court Justice Colin Williams found that in self-defense, a person reacts to defend himself based on perception that at the time, it is deemed that his life is under threat.  The justice took into account Pacheco’s dock statement in which he said that Villanueva had threatened him more than once before the fatal confrontation and that on the evening of the incident, he saw Villanueva pull out a gun then heard a bang during an argument that they had gotten embroiled in.  He said that Villanueva had also threatened to do to him what he had done to his dog. Pacheco said that when he heard the bang, he pulled his licensed pistol and fired at Villanueva. Pacheco’s jewelry shop is located next to the residence where Villanueva lived on East Collet Canal and the two had been having disputes since they became neighbours in 2012.