Two Murders Reported Overnight, Including One in Ladyville
Jareth Tablada & Delroy Chaplin
There were two murders reported overnight in Belize City and Ladyville where a well-known deliveryman from Gungulung lost his life to gun violence. Another man, thirty-five-year-old Delroy Chaplin met the same end when he went to purchase marijuana on Perez Road. Tonight, police are investigating both incidents and while the first is said to have been the result of a feud over a parcel of land, the other is reportedly the outcome of an internal issue following the proceeds of crime that was recently committed. Isani Cayetano has the following report.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Investigators are following all leads on a pair of homicides that occurred on Monday night, the first in Belize City and another in Ladyville less than two hours later. Thirty-seven-year old Jareth Tablada was gunned down in the Gungulung area shortly after six o’clock, as he was reportedly making his way on foot to purchase a Boledo ticket. Tablada was listening to music on his phone when he was approached by a lone gunman. He was executed in a salvo of gunshots.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Yesterday evening, sometime around 6:20 or thereabout, police responded to information of shots fired on Holy Emmanuel [Street] with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. We believe so far that that matter had to do with a land dispute he had with an individual within that area and so police are following up on that matter.”
Tablada, who was at one point a deliveryman for Chon Saan Palace, was well known in the Holy Emmanuel community. He is described by his grieving sisters as a quiet person who kept to himself. They too attested to the deadly incident being the result of a land dispute.
A short while later, in another unrelated matter, gunshots rang out in Ladyville. When the shooting subsided, thirty-five-year-old Delroy Chaplin laid motionless inside a yard where he reportedly went to purchase marijuana.
Voice of: Pamela Staine, Common-law Wife of Deceased
“My bwai friend Delroy, he gaan out fi gaan gaan buy wahn lee herb. I guess da wahn lee herb ih gaan buy and he tell me he was gonna come right back. He left about 7:30 and about 7:50, bout di time when I di expect ahn back, I hyah wahn amount ah gunshot, probably bout six to eight a dem. And I open my door, my door mi done open and I look out. I have burglar bar and when I look out my daughter cohn from outta di bedroom and she seh ma da weh dat? And I tell ahn I think da gunshot and I seh I hope da no Delroy. And she seh Delroy gaan outta di house then? And I tell yes, ih gaan get weed.”
Against her hopes that it wasn’t her common-law husband, Delroy Chaplin was indeed the victim of the deadly onslaught.
Chester Williams
“Around 8:10 p.m. or thereabout Ladyville police responded to shots fired on Perez Road, Ladyville. Upon arrival, they saw the lifeless body of a young man, Delroy [Chaplin] with gunshot injuries. He was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. Information we gathered is that [Chaplin] left home to go and purchase weed or cannabis from someone not too far from where he lived and on his way back home he was ambushed and was shot. That matter we believed was the result of an internal dispute he had with a group that he is associated with. I‘m not going to go into much details in terms of why but we believe that it has to do with the proceeds of a crime and I‘ll leave it at that.”
According to Chaplin’s common-law wife, admittedly, he was a thief and pointed to records that reflect his criminal past, but she never expected that he would be killed because he had no known enemies.
Voice of: Pamela Staine
“I noh know who do dis or I noh know why dehn do dis because I noh even expect or think that Delroy have anybody weh wahn hurt he or wahn kill he. My bwai friend, from he come out ah jail me and he deh together, three years. My bwai friend he noh do dehn stuff, he noh into gang bang or none ah dehn stuff. My bwai friend thief, that‘s what he does. He‘s a thief, everybody know ih da wahn thief. Yoh check ih record ih da wahn thief. So fi dehn kill he like that, I would neva expect that.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
