Was “Hail Di I” Really Killed Over Land Dispute?
Jareth Tablada
Jareth Tablada was known to many in the community of Holy Emmanuel Street as “Hail Di I” and was described as a mild-mannered individual who tried to earn an honest dollar during the pandemic. There are others who say that the thirty-seven-year-old may have gotten involved with the wrong group of individuals in the neighborhood and that his senseless murder on Monday night had more to do with an ongoing rivalry over the sale of marijuana. News Five’s Isani Cayetano revisits that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The murder of Jareth Tablada in Belize City, which occurred several hours prior to the shooting death of Delroy Chaplin on Monday, is being investigated as a land dispute turned fatal. While that is the story that is being reported to the Belize Police Department, others in the Gungulung community believe that the thirty-seven-year-old’s death may be drug-related. According to neighbors, Tablada, also known as “Hail Di I”, was an easygoing person, but there was something else taking place in his life that many did not know about.
Voice of: Neighbor of Deceased
“Of late, afta ih bally get kill pan di highway, corner ah di highway up yonder, di man staat to move wahn lee strange kinda way and thing soh I mussi guess, yoh know, id deeds probably creep up pan ah or something like that. But ah mean, ih strange di way how di man gaan, you know. Yoh wouldn‘t undastand, everybody eena di neighborhood still baffled but yeah, only time wahn tell, man.”
Isani Cayetano
“Describe him as an individual to me because from what we‘re understanding, Mr. Tablada never had any true enemies, at least that‘s what his siblings, his family members are saying, but it may seem otherwise depending on who you talk to.”
Voice of: Neighbor of Deceased
“Yeah that‘s true because the kind of friends you keep or deal with, they look at you in a different reflection. I mean the different reflection looking at you like that da di kinda friends you keep. You gotta look at it like yo something strange is going on here. Look at my friends, look at the people you are surrounded by. So, I mean the family haftu really tek a mic check, dehn haftu really dig down deep before saying something.”
The murder, says police commissioner Chester Williams, is over a piece of land that was being disputed between Tablada and another individual. Sources say the former deliveryman was also involved in the sale of weed and that his demise is the result of a growing turf war.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Yesterday evening, sometime around 6:20 or thereabout, police responded to information of shots fired on Holy Emmanuel [Street] with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. We believe so far that that matter had to do with a land dispute he had with an individual within that area and so police are following up on that matter.”
It is believed that Tablada was followed by his attacker as he walked towards a nearby store on Holy Emmanuel Street to purchase a boledo ticket. The attack was callous, as the gunman pounced on the unsuspecting victim while he was listening to music through a pair of earphones. The angle of the homicide being tied to a land dispute is also being contradicted by Tablada‘s neighbors.
Voice of: Neighbor of Deceased
“Ah mean nobody noh just a pull pan somebody and just kill somebody like that. I mean the police go to whom they need to go to. Dehn noh come da your house, dehn noh come da my house, dehn noh come da none a fu we house. They go to the people they need to go to. So, I mean the people who wanted somebody they knew exactly who to go to so I mean di family really needs to take a mic check and look around and investigate before saying something. I noh di seh yes ih da wahn evil and bad person but look at the friends he keeps. The friends you keep show you who you are.”
Isani Cayetano
“In your mind, for whatever reason, do you believe that this has in fact been the result of a land dispute or it could have been something else that we‘re not seeing?”
Voice of: Neighbor of Deceased
“I wouldn‘t say a land dispute because if you follow up, if you say the judge gave an order and you have to wait on that order, why kill somebody before you see what that person is going to do. If you see a court order, I mean you‘ve got a court order. If you get the court order, you deal with the court order. I mean the person that owns the land took it to the court meaning that she doesn‘t want any problems.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
