Who Was Jeffrey Coats?
Jeffrey Coats
So who was Jeffrey Allen Coats? While he migrated to Belize and started his nightclub, Coats had a criminal past. Reports surfacing online reflect that back on September sixth, 1994, he kidnapped David Grenier and stole his car in Tacoma, Washington. Coats was fourteen years old at the time and was charged with robbery, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit robbery. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. He was released and went on to become a successful real estate agent who spoke on issues of imprisonment and rehabilitation and also authored a book. During one of the live recordings with a prison coach back in April 2018, Coats spoke about being in foster care and reflecting on his bad decisions.
Jeffrey Coats
[File: April 4th, 2018] Jeffrey Coats, Deceased
“When you go back and look at certain things in your life and you’re like mien you were so dumb and you kind smile, but in this case, this is a big deal in my life in the way it shaped my life. So when I tell the story, I just think to myself how stupid I was and wouldn’t have gone through it. So in the group home, I was about to start high school and someone said you need to have a car for going to high school. You can’t just be going there and you don’t have a family and a place where girls could come to. But if you have a nice car, you could stand out and make a good impression so that’s where the idea came from. So we started making this plan together – it was four of us at the time.”
Duane Moody
“Do you believe that it is possible that his past may have caught up with him or that it has an influence on what happened to him?”
Earl Trapp
Earl Trapp, Mayor, San Ignacio/Santa Elena
“I wouldn’t believe so. That was all the way in the U.S. I am not sure what has transpired, but whatever may have transpired, I always believe in giving a second opportunity. He was here after so many years and he decided to basically redeem himself. He came in the character of a nice person. He was helping in stimulating the local economy here. He built relationship and he thought that he had a future and he was working towards that future.”
