Deportee and partner arrested for Burgess murder
Nine days after a Belize City moneylender was gunned down near St. John’s Cathedral, two men, one of them a deportee from the U.S., were charged with murder. Although one of the accused was initially detained almost immediately after the incident, ever mindful of the recent cases which were dismissed due to lack of evidence, police took their time building their case. The Criminal Investigations Branch says they believe the evidence will hold up when the case goes to trial. News Five was there for the walkover to Magistrate’s Court this afternoon.
Eric Savery and Gregory Goff were two friends who hung out at a base in the Rocky Road area of Belize City. Today they were handcuffed and escorted over to Magistrate’s Court. The young men have been charged with the murder and conspiracy to murder forty- four year old Winston Burgess.
Inspector Mario Vernon, Head of C.I.B. says they give credit for the arrests to eyewitness accounts they received immediately after the shooting.
Insp. Mario Vernon, Head of C.I.B.
“People who saw the fellows before one of them put on a mask and people who saw the fellow after he took off the mask. The other man was identified through otherwise during police investigation.”
Savery is accused of being the man who wore the Halloween mask and allegedly pulled the trigger. Although the police believe the motive was robbery, there is no evidence to suggest any money was stolen. While family members say Burgess had a total of seven thousand, five hundred dollars, police recovered six thousand, five hundred dollars at the scene.
Insp. Mario Vernon
“We have the trousers of the deceased and one of the pockets is torn down. So there was an effort to grab a sum amount of money. However that sum of money was left with the deceased.”
An expended shell and a cap were also found. Although it is believed the cap was worn by one of the men during the commission of the crime, Vernon said it was not a crucial piece of evidence in the arrest. Investigations reveal Burgess had been under surveillance.
Insp. Mario Vernon
“We have information that at least one of the accused persons was monitoring Mr. Burgess, had information that Mr. Burgess kept a tidy sum of money at all times because of the business that he was conducting as a moneylender. It seems that there was a plan to eventually make a move to rob him of certain amounts of money.”
Savery, who is twenty-seven, was recently deported from the United States after serving ten years in a state penitentiary for rape. Goff, twenty-one, does not have a police record but is a recent high school graduate who was unemployed at the time of the murder. Vernon is confident with the evidence they have gathered.
Insp. Mario Vernon
“It is strong enough to go in front of a court of law. What transpires during the course of a trial is yet to be seen. But from what we have since this will certainly be a Supreme Court matter. I think it will be very convincing to the jury and we should get a conviction.”
Vernon says they have witnesses who are willing to come forward and go to court.
Both men have been remanded to Hattieville and are due to reappear in court on November twenty-third.
