Police Say Graniel Had Beef with Notorious Gang Figure
Chester Williams
Investigators are working on establishing a motive. This was not the first time that Graniel came under gunfire. A day before the double murder, shots were fired at Graniel’s apartment in the Boca del Rio area. Graniel was inside his room on the second floor when he heard three gunshots. When he made checks, he noticed a bullet hole above his door. According to sources, this incident was captured by a security camera which showed a lone gunman, wearing a black hoodie to conceal his identity. At the scene, police found three nine millimeter shells. No one was found in the immediate area. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, Graniel did not report this matter to the police.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The double murder in San Pedro, what we are gathering after the fact is that the decease, Mr. Graniel had a misunderstanding with one of the notorious gang figure in San Pedro. His home was shot at his Friday last. Police detained the persons who we suspected did the shooting, waited for Mr. Graniel to give the report. He never showed up to give the report. We maintain police presence in the area to protect him and the community from further shootings but we can’t follow the man everywhere he goes. He decided to go out with a tourist. We don’t have a boat to follow him and we can’t put police on every tour guide boat. That was the end of it yesterday. We did what we could have done in terms of detaining those who we believe were responsible and maintaining presence in the area where he lived. I don’t see what else we could have done.”
Isani Cayetano
“Is it safe to say then that Mr. Swank is a victim of circumstance in this case?”
Chester Williams
“That is surely the case.”
The Graniel family declined to comment. Graniel was an active tour guide and one of the first persons to pioneer fly fishing. A statement from the Belize Game Fish Conservation Network says in part that “Mr. Graniel was a huge help to us in our early days. No one deserves to go out that way especially someone so kind hearted.” Doctor Swank was an interventional cardiologist and worked at the Carilion Clinic in Virginia. A statement from Carilion reads, “Dr. Swank was a well-respected and well-loved colleague who, each and every day, embodied the values that we hold dear.” Police say that Swank entered the country on Saturday; he was on vacation in Belize with his wife and three children.
