Krismar Espinosa charged for murder behind prison walls

On Wednesday leaders of rival Belize City gangs are expected to congregate for a make or break deal that could end the violence in the streets. The mood is very tense tonight as one inmate has confessed to murdering another convict affiliated with a rival gang behind the prison walls of the Hattieville Prison. Twenty-one year old Keon Swasey was laid to rest three days ago, that is thirteen days after he was stabbed twice to his chest on Christmas Eve with a home-made knife. The man accused of killing him, twenty year-old Krismar Espinosa, had been removed from the general population and placed in solitary confinement since the murder occurred. He was handed over to the Criminal Investigative Branch of the police late this evening, after which he was processed and charged for the murder of Swasey. Espinosa has confessed to the crime which many believe is gang related. The deceased is believed to be a member of the SSG crew which is currently at war with the George Street gang. Reports are that Swasey had just gotten off the prison phone with relatives when Espinosa inflicted the fatal wound. Both Espinosa and Swasey had a string of legal troubles that kept them behind bars. Espinosa was first remanded when he was barely seventeen years old. The murder of Swasey is not the only murder charge against him. Espinosa is also on remand for the murder of Rachel Chun, a Punta Gorda woman who was killed in Orange Walk in September of 2007. At the time of his death, Keon Swasey and three family members were on trial for three counts of aggravated assault and illegal firearm and ammunition charges in magistrate’s court.