1 Man Detained for Double Murder in San Pedro; another Man and Woman are Being Sought

Deon Faber & Allen Martinez

A woman and two men were captured on surveillance camera arriving by boat in San Pedro just prior to the double murder of Deon Faber and Allen Martinez. The woman was carrying a child and a diaper bag. The trio headed up Pescador Drive and would arrive at Faber’s house, but she stayed one block away. The two gunmen proceeded to the house just after one o’clock on Thursday afternoon. Faber was inside his house and was executed in his bedroom while Martinez, who was visiting, was shot twice and expired soon after. Faber’s wife was saved; she hid under a table. The gunmen left the house; one of them who is expected to be charged over the weekend, was nabbed by police just before he boarded a water taxi. News Five’s Duane Moody reports on the brazen murder on the island.

Duane Moody, Reporting

One man has been detained and San Pedro Police are looking for another, as well as a woman, who they believe can help in the ongoing investigation into the double murder of Deon Faber and Allen Martinez. The childhood friends have been living on the island for years, but on the afternoon of March twenty-first, one of two men, who entered Faber’s house in the Boca del Rio area of the island town, opened fire on the unsuspecting duo, killing Faber on the spot inside a bedroom. He was discovered motionless and face down with multiple shots to the back and arm. Martinez was discovered face down in the kitchen having been shot to the neck and shoulder; he succumbed on arrival at the San Pedro Polyclinic.

Reymundo Reyes

Supt. Reymundo Reyes, O.C., San Pedro Police

“Police visited the residence of Mister Deon Faber where on arrival, police saw the body of a male person lying inside his bedroom and he was not responsive. That was that of Mister Deon Faber. Further checks in the kitchen area, we saw a next male person, namely Mister Allen Martinez. He was still alive; it could have been seen that he was gasping for air so he was immediately rushed to the polyclinic but pronounced dead on arrival at the polyclinic. So far, police have canvassed the area. We have obtained useful information and as a result, one individual has been detained pending investigation of that double murder.”

Police say they have been able to gather enough evidence including surveillance footage that would confirm that a woman carrying a toddler and diaper bag, as well as two men, arrived on the island shortly before the execution. The woman was seen in proximity to the crime scene as the two men carried out the heinous crime. After police canvassed the area, they believe they were able to nab one of the suspects, based on the footage; the woman and the other man, known to them as a resident of Belize City, escaped on a passenger boat back to the city. It is believed that the woman carried the gun in the diaper bag.

Supt. Reymundo Reyes

“The investigation is pretty young, but we are sure through our interviews and canvassing of the area that we have done, we have come up with information that apparently there was a female who was along with these two individuals prior to the shooting and after the shooting and that’s why we are saying that she would be able to assist us with this investigation. Whether they have any relative or friends on the island, we cannot say, but we know that they are people from Belize City who came yesterday and they left yesterday also. One of the suspects was detained when he was about to board one of the vessels going to Belize City, but the other two persons had already left. So that is the reason why we are looking for those other two individuals.”

For seventeen years, Faber has been living at the same location in San Pedro, to the rear of a mechanic shop, while Martinez lived in the Bay area of the island town. Superintendent Reymundo Reyes says that both men are known as drug peddlers on the island, but a motive for the crime cannot be ascertained.

Supt. Reymundo Reyes

“Since I have been attached here to San Pedro, I can say that yes, we have had contact with them. I can say that they are no strangers to us when it comes to the peddling of drugs. At this moment, we cannot say what is the motive of the incident or the shooting. We know that two persons arrived at the premises normally; they just walked into the yard, apparently met with Mister Deon and all of a sudden this is when the wife, who was in the kitchen area also saw him running towards the front door and he immediately hollered, “Watch out; gunman.” And then shots were fired at him. He managed to run inside his house towards the bedroom and the persons continued to fire shots at his direction. After he dropped that is when the gunman turned his attention to Mister Martinez and fired two or three shots at him. The wife…upon hearing the first sound of the gunshot, she managed to duck under the table and apparently that is what saved her.”

Eight expended nine millimetre shells were recovered from the scene. Duane Moody for News Five.