Thief robs and torches apartment

Arson and robbery are believed to be the motive for a fire this morning in Belize City which left a tenant without his home and all his belongings. A thief broke into room twelve of an Apartment Complex on Campus Drive in the West Landivar Area and stole numerous electrical appliances before setting the apartment on fire. News Five’s Duane Moody and cameraman Chris Mangar were first on the scene.

Duane Moody, Reporting
Shortly before ten this morning, Room Twelve of an apartment complex belonging to Zanira Espat went up in flames. It started at the unit occupied by thirty-eight year old naturalized Belizean Emmanuel Edeani.
Edeani, who is a security guard at the Belize Water Taxi Services, was alerted by a fellow tenant that fire was ravaging his room. In disbelief, he hurried home to find not only a gutted apartment but that many personal items were missing.

Emmanuel Edeani, Resident
“When I get in there I found out my TV gone, my stereo gone, my DVD gone. The whole inside the bedroom everything burn up. I think somebody gone with all ah this and they light up the whole room fire. As of now, I am talking to you right now, I noh have nothing. Everything burn up. Only myself and this clothes I have on is all I have right now.”

Duane Moody
“Who would do something like this?”

Emmanuel Edeani
“Well, actually I am talking to you right now, I don’t have no enemy. I go to work, I come back home, I don’t have no problem with anybody. I don’t know who do it, I don’t know why they should do me that because everyday I go to work, I work hard to meet up my financial problems. I don’t why they should do me this. They could have gone with the radio and the stereo and everything and left the room inna this because all my documents everything burn up.”

It is believed that Edeani was targeted and according to an eyewitness, an unknown individual was seen leaving the apartment complex shortly before the fire broke.

Voice of Eyewitness
“Same time going in, a dark skin man was walking out at the same time. I didn’t take it any kind ah way; I just saw a red taxi outside waiting. First I drove past and then I just looked up to see if my wife was home and I didn’t see her. At the same time I saw the guy going into that apartment. Then I went to the lane, turned around and then I came back and parked. When I parked he was downstairs here passing me on my way in. I just went in, took a quick walk at my place, less than five minutes and when I was coming out I smell like a rubber burning and didn’t take it in any kind of cautious kind of way. By the time I drove off, I look up and saw the flames bursting so I just quickly came to a stop, reversed and I started to call everybody who I knew in the apartment to come out and that was pretty much it. I asked the neighbors to call 911, I didn’t have my phone.”

Duane Moody
“So you’re figuring that this man actually put that place on fire?”

Voice of Eyewitness
“It could be because he was the last person I saw coming out of that room.”

Edeani claims he has no enemies and has no inkling of who is responsible.

Emmanuel Edeani
“It is not personal. I think they take this and they burn up the place so that they could say dah fire ih ketch. That’s all I could think because I noh have no enemy. I noh have no enemies so I noh have my mind thinking about retaliation or something like that. But this is… I don’t know what to say mein.”

The fire was contained within minutes after it broke and according to Station Supervisor of the Fire Department, Kenneth Mortis, there are no signs of electrical malfunction.

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, Fire Department
“When we arrived on the scene the fire department saw smoke coming from the windows and doors of one of the bedroom on the top level of the three storey building. We got into operation and we saw the fire was confined to the bedroom portion of the apartment.”

Duane Moody
“How did the fire started?”

Kenneth Mortis
“Presently, I am unable to say. As I said, the investigation is ongoing so exactly what cause the fire is undetermined but we can say for a fact that electrical was not an issue because there were no electrical appliances plugged in. The fire started on the bed. It started on the bed and then it worked its way around and up.”

Duane Moody
“Everything in the room was destroyed?”

Kenneth Mortis
“The bed itself was totally destroyed by the fire, other footwear and clothing that were under the bed were destroyed. Apart from that, most of the bedroom itself sustained major heat, smoke and water damage.”

Edeani has no relatives here in Belize and would like some assistance. If anyone would like to over some assistance they can contact him at 620-3142. Duane Moody reporting for News Five.