Tyrone Crown murdered in Belize City

Tyrone Crown

Tyrone Crown, a resident of Louise Bevans Street, was executed in cold blood just before dark on Saturday evening. A hail of bullets emptied on his body, caused his immediate death as he headed to his house, a stone’s throw away.  Crown, a mechanic, lived immediately in front of where Giovanni Chi was killed last Thursday and speculation is rife that his murder was to silence him from providing any information on that homicide.  News Five’s Andrea Polanco reports on the latest murder in the Old Capital.

Voice of: Crown’s Co-worker

“He has been working with me for about a twenty-odd years from he was a little guy. Because what he did, he detailed vehicles for us, clean out the vehicles when they come from the states and son on; because I am a car dealer. So he usually clean the vehicle, sand them, tape them up for me let me paint them and put them on the market for sale. He always makes sure they look good.”

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

Andrea Polanco

That man is thirty seven year old Tyrone Crown, a hardworking bodyworks employee of Louise Bevans Street. On Saturday shortly before six, he was riding his bicycle on Caesar Ridge Road enroute to his house when two men rode up behind him and one of them emptied a gun on him to ensure his demise. The news of his murder has left everyone in shock:

Andrea Polanco

“Do you know how many shots he received?”

Noella Matute, Relative of Deceased

“I think dah fifteen.”

Andrea Polanco

“Fifteen in total. So that’s all across his body?”

Noella Matute

“He supposed to get all the shots deh inna ih head and inna ih body.”

Andrea Polanco

“Did he mention to you guys if anybody made any threats prior to his death?”

Noella Matute

“No, no. He always go dah my ma house deh and he nuh mention nothing bout that.”

Andrea Polanco

“So when you guys got the news, of course it was a big surprise?”

Noella Matute

“Surprise yes because he nuh bother with nobody. From work he come straight home.”

Voice of: Crown’s Co-worker

“Well the last time I spoke with Tyrone was Saturday morning because he was all day here drinking with us sitting right out here. I left from here and went home about five in the evening and I was home working on my car when my wife told me ih seh ‘Don, deh just kill Tyrone’ ih tell mi seh deh just kill ‘Tiggs’.  Suh ah say ‘mien you joking,’ Suh I didn’t believe so I called the police station and I call 911 because the guy work with me right. So the policeman said it’s true, they shot him by Caesar Ridge Road. I couldn’t believe it so I called my sister and my other friends and I told them. I called my cousin Sutherland and he said he said he’s at the hospital right now. He said but it looks bad ih say because it looks they empty a magazine or something on the guy.”

Crown is described as an easy going person who stayed clear from street trouble. His co-worker of over twenty years says he didn’t stock enemies and had a clean police record:

Voice of: Crown’s Co-worker

“I can’t believe why they’ll kill him because he’s a good guy. He has no enemies. He’s always here early in the morning working for us and neva give no trouble or nothing. The only thing he likes is take his little drink and go buy and so for us and mind my friend house when he is in the states and what’s not. He’s like a brother to us.”

Andrea Polanco

“So he didn’t give you any indication that he had any problems with anybody or so, any recent trouble?”

Voice of: Crown’s Co-worker

“No, never. As far as I know Tiggs has no enemy. He’s a person that likes to stick to himself and sit down right out here and drink his ‘Caribbean’ because he loved to drink ‘Caribbean Rum’ and run jokes and suh yuh know. He’s a very friendly person; he can’t even hurt a fly. So I think they just chance the guy out of his life. He’s a really understanding and cool person. I just hate the idea how they’ll kill somebody so innocent. That guy doesn’t even have a police record.”

So what’s the motive of the city’s recent killing? A family member says that word on the street is that Crown may have been killed as a result of Giovanni Chi’s murder which took place on Thursday night in front of Crown’s home. But others can only grapple with the question, why?

Noella Matute

“We nuh really suh know nothing as so far as yet because  deh say how people say how he witness wah murder end up the cause ih death but he mih tell my ma how he neva si nuttn.”

Andrea Polanco

“Which murder was that? Was that the one of Giovanni Chi?”

Noella Matute

“Yes ma’am.”

Andrea Polanco

“So that took place right around his house?”

Noella Matute

“Right pahn Louise Bevans.”

Andrea Polanco

“You don’t think it maybe it’s a case of mistaken identity or so?”

Voice of: Crown’s Co-worker

“Maybe that could be it, the mistaken identity or so. Because other reason for that I don’t know.”

Fitzroy Yearwood

Police Press Officer, Fitzroy Yearwood says the police retrieved multiple expended shells from the scene. Yearwood says no substantive progress has been made in the case and is asking the public’s assistance:

Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer

“We recover about seventeen expended shells from the scene. The reason I’m also saying unfortunate is because we have canvassed that area and tried to interview people, this is early in the evening. The storm didn’t hit Belize City and nobody seems to have seen anything. We’re trying our best to solve this murder situation and we have to ask. We have to appeal for every little opportunity, every little help that we can get from the public.”

Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.