Businessman murdered; 3 cops shot in crossfire with ‘Cowboy’

On March sixth, a Chinese businessman was robbed, stabbed and his throat slashed in Belize City, and over the past weekend this time in Orange Walk, a Taiwanese was murdered under the same circumstances. It happened on Saturday night at a three storey building on Lover’s Lane. Three police officers were also shot and injured in the incident. Marion Ali has the details in this report from Orange Walk Town.

Marion Ali, Reporting
Thirty-eight year old Hui Lin Chen arrived in the country of Belize three months ago to work and had landed a job at Mai’s Ice Cream Parlor on Lover’s Lane in Orange Walk Town. But at around nine-thirty on Saturday night he met his fate in a gruesome way when a robber accosted him on the upper flat of a three storey building right across from where he worked, used as a warehouse. Chen was reportedly closing up for the night when a man wearing a dread cap started to struggle with him.

Supt. Joseph Myvette, O.C., Orange Walk Police Station
“At a three storey concrete building which houses a shop at the bottom, the body of a male Chinese national was seen in a sitting position with his throat slashed on the second floor. According to witnesses present, some time shortly before ten a commotion was heard on the third floor which houses a warehouse. These witnesses at the time were on the third floor of this building and two of them came down to investigate the commotion where they saw the deceased, Hui Lin Chen struggling with a dark complexion male person. One of the witnesses who is in possession of a license firearm hurried back to the third floor to get his weapon to come down back to the second floor during which time the suspect had already left the building by jumping into the yard.”

The suspect fled, leaving behind a folding knife and the man who held a licensed weapon shot at him but missed as the murderer scaled several fences until he reached the riverside. By this time, Officer Commanding the Orange Walk Police Station, Superintendent Joseph Myvette says a second team of officers responded and caught up with him just behind a tourist information centre.

Supt. Joseph Myvette
“At this point in time the person was already in the water. The team of police officers who responded to the scene was P.C. Jose Blanco, Woman Police Constable Melanie Anderson, and Special constable Noel Castillo. This person, whilst in the water, was spoken to by the police in order to persuade him to come out of the water. Accordingly, the police spoke to him for the better part of five minutes trying to convince him to come out of the water. It was at this point that the suspect rose up out of the water with two hand guns firing instantly at the police; one in his left hand and one in his right hand.”

As a result, P.C. Melanie Anderson was shot to the upper right leg and Special Constable Noel Castillo was hit to the upper left abdomen and upper left arm. Both were immediately rushed to the Northern Regional Hospital while the suspect managed to get away again. But it would not end there because a third team of officers, supported by B.D.F. elements, went to comb the old slaughterhouse area. A third officer, P.C. Roger Briceño who was leading the manhunt was shot by someone lying in the grass. Briceño was injured on the lower abdomen and upper left leg and was rushed for urgent medical treatment. But the gunman was not lucky this time as he too was injured in the upper left abdomen in a crossfire with authorities at the scene.

The gunman was whisked away to the Northern Regional Hospital where he was identified as Kevin “Cowboy” Alvarez, an ex-police constable, who Police Commissioner Westby asserts is no stranger to crime.

Gerald Westby, Commissioner of Police
“It’s sad to see when ex-police men do occur, but Kevin Alvarez is no stranger to the law. He is better known as cowboy, probably that’s why—to look at a serious incident—I’d say probably he was acting like a cowboy with two guns out. I would like to detract from the gravity of the situation but certainly it is sad to see that policemen and ex-policemen are involved.”

But police do not believe Alvarez acted alone and are looking for an accomplice who they believe abandoned the crime when things got out of hand. And while police would not give much details, they did tell News Five late this evening that they have recovered sufficient evidence thus far that reassures them that Alvarez was the same man at the murder scene just minutes before. Aside from the knife, they have also recovered a dread cap and two firearms purportedly belonging to the suspect. Roberto Campos was in the area when police apprehended Alvarez.

Voice of Roberto Campos, Witnessed Arrest
“I hear di dog bark but I noh know nothing. I hear somebody run back yah so. I hear some couple people run dah back yah so. So we get up and den when I peep so I si police dehn di pass back yah so. So more or less, I ask dehn weh di go on and dehn tell me dat dehn just kill wah Chiney man; dehn slice di Chiney man throat. Den we come back yah come faas wid dehn and den we gone dah back deh so. My old lady tell me ih look like dehn start to gone behind di house so dehn start to check and nothing. Di dog still di bark.”

Marion Ali
“Dehn tell yoh weh dehn mi di check fah?”

Voice of Roberto Campos
“Yeah, dehn tell me. Dehn tell we dat dehn seh dat dah bout three guys but I neva si none ah dehn. After dat I start to hear some gunshots and I mi di try get closer but from deh I stay eena mi yard. I can’t get so close to di scene.”

Marion Ali
“So you heard…”

Voice of Roberto Campos
“From mi house we heard—one of di policeman got shot before di A.D.U., so wen di A.D.U.—I guess it’s di A.D.U. dat came and search. It was not long, like ten minutes. I heard one of di A.D.U.—I heard some more gunshots and one of the A.D.U. bawl. I guess ih get shot. Right after dat I guess one of di A.D.U. supposed to shot him or he supposed to shot one of the suspect.”

And because police officers have been injured in the last two weeks, the top brass of the Department believe the time has come for better working conditions for police officers, including better arming and equipping them.

Gerald Westby
“Maybe we might need to change from the traditional unarmed police. Also, we need to look at bullet proof vests, better equip our police and we have, through the Merida Initiative, requested bullet proof vests but certainly we will see that we secure some before those come online. We also need to continue to look at the conditions of service for our police officers in terms of their allowances and also to look at extending the pay scale for our police officers. Here our police officers giving their lives out their and we need to look at their conditions of service, their allowances, and the pay scale for them and also to look at insurance coverage for our police officers.”

Crispin Jeffries, Assistant Commissioner of Police
“As we speak, added bullet proof vests will be deployed to the Orange Walk, Belize District and the Cayo District. Similarly, there are specialized units that have heavier flap jacket type bullet proof vests that we recently acquired and those too will be added. This is to say that we’ve got to respond in a more aggressive way and more heavily armed. I can assure you that internally, the commission of police have given me the directives and I’ve done what is necessary and we will continue to step up to a level of readiness to respond proportionately to this sort of threat. I will tell you that the Belize Defence Force on Saturday was called out, they were on standby and they had added manpower.”

And police have made good on their promise at the Northern Regional Hospital where Alvarez is receiving treatment and is under heavily armed police presence. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.