“Jungle Rat” is Found Guilty of 2014 Murder

Twenty-seven-year-old Jason Sanchez appeared before Justice Herbert Lord on Monday where he was convicted for the execution style murder of Emmerson Arnold, an employee of Belize Water Services Limited. The incident took place on the morning of November, twenty-eighth, 2014 when Arnold was shot as many as six times by his attacker. Sanchez, otherwise known as “Jungle Rat”, was subsequently identified as the gunman. The deadly shooting was witnessed by a woman who identified Sanchez as someone she knew for over ten years. At the Supreme Court, Justice Lord has been presiding over the matter since it began in March 2021.  Notwithstanding numerous delays since then, as well as the witness’ absence from court, Sanchez was found guilty of murder on Monday morning. While noting that the burden of proof fell on the crown, Justice Lord, in delivering his ruling, did not believe Sanchez’s account of what transpired and rejected his testimony. The eyewitness failed to show up in court following several threats on her life after she positively identified Sanchez as the shooter. Her statement which was given to police was admitted into evidence in the trial against Sanchez. Sentencing for the convicted killer has been deferred to a later date.