La Democracia man dies in fight

For the Montes family of La Democracia village in the Belize District, the last year and a half has been a trying time. In October of 1996, a dispute in the village ended with one Montes brother, Roosevelt, shooting another, Victor, to death. Over the weekend, tragedy struck again. This time the victim was yet another brother, thirty four year old John Montes. According to police, a group of men were socializing at the junction of the Coastal Road and Western Highway when Montes approached and started a fight with twenty two year old Slade Ramos, a mechanic of the same village. Ramos told police that during the shoving match, Montes slipped and fell over a bench, hitting the back of his head and apparently went unconscious. When police arrived on the scene around 6:20 Saturday morning, they transported Montes to the Karl Heusner Memorial hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police have since detained Ramos pending the outcome of their investigation. Meanwhile Montes’ body awaits a post mortem examination. Coincidentally, on Tuesday, the murder trial of Roosevelt Montes opens in the Supreme Court.