Attempted murder case dropped; victim can no longer identify shooter
Austin Rowland
Also in court, the charge of attempted murder brought against Austin Rowland in August of 2008 was today withdrawn in the courtroom of Justice Herbert Lord. Rowland, who was accused of the shooting of twenty-nine year-old Richard Russell, was dismissed of the charge when Russell told the court that he could not identify his attacker. His testimony contradicted a statement previously given to police that he saw who his shooter was when he fell to the ground pretending to be dead. The incident occurred almost two years ago while Russell was standing at the corners of Central American Boulevard and Dakers Street and was shot multiple times.
In court today prosecutor Christelle Wilson asked if Russell was able to point out who his attacker was. He responded that he could not and instead told the court that he did not wish to proceed with the matter and that God will be the ultimate judge of what transpired that evening. Wilson, who had empanelled a jury of four women and five men, subsequently made an application for the charge to be retracted. With that Rowland was free to go.
Here is a good example of a victim who is part of the problem of lawlessness. Now a dangerous man is free to strike again. Too many cowards in Belize!
That lead is bad for a fellow’s memory.
Boys kiss & make up & can the victim tell us what or who caused the memory lapse & since you know that you will not spend the rest of your life in jail, Mr Rowland can explain to us how this beef ended up in blood shed. Obviously Mr Russell cannot bear to see another brother locked up in a cage, even if he almost lost his life, so be a part of the solution so that your baby’s mother won’t have this same BS to look forward to in another decade.
Waste of time, waste of time, how can this help just for belizeans, none at all.
the victim had the guy then let him, thinking god will take care of his problem.
tisk, tisk, tisk stopm feet and walk away.
charge the victim for wasting the court time, plain and simple
Another one is freed. More than likely threats were made again. I guess the population will soon start taking matters in their own hand and Belize will be like the wild wild west!
There need to be laws in Belize to protect witnesses.Until then we are going to see thesame thrend.
THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE SYSTEM, NO FURTHER INVESTIGATION ABOUT WHY THE ATTACKER STATEMENT WAS WITHDRAWN, THE ACCUSER WAS LET OUT FREE TO GO ON THE STREET AGAIN . HOWEVER BOTH THEIR NAMES WILL BE IN THE NEWS AGAIN REGARDING ANOTHER SHOOTING.
why is there even a trial.. they should have just killed him.. easy..
Mark my words, Mr Rowland may as well buy his plot at the new cemetery and pay for his casket, so his family won’t be asking for help to bury him, the old beef is not yet over, someone will exact a pound of flesh from this dude. He will be in the news again either as a victim or yet a murderer.
System still based only on witness and not on evidences….banana republic, bring the brits back
Sad how suspects get away so easy…
RUSSEL WAS AFRAID TO SAY THAT ROLLAND WAS THE SHOOTER BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID OF BEING KILLED AFTER DAT!!
Man dah Belize wah haveto hitchhike fu go bury.
They need to start making all these shooting and murder charges as offenses comitted against the state so these idiots don’t get away.
That is so true Marvin. Yes he was threaten 4 days before they kidnapped his brother and kill him. Yes he was threaten that if he did not drop the case he will see what will happen. He did drop the case and they still took his brother’s life.
And his brother is Randy Coye.
They need to put a hit on all the so called gang leaders.Maybe instead of having meeting with these guys Mr Barrow should have all of them detained.
HERE WE GO AGAIN ON THIS VERY PATH OF POLICE OFFICER,DETECTIVE, WITNESS, EVIDENCE, EACH ONE OF THIS CONCEPT FIT IN TO JUSTICE. IT COULD THE OFFICER IS NOT DOING HIS JOB OR LACK OF DETECTIVE WORK THEN THERE IS THE WITNESS SCARED TO DEATH. BUT WE NEED TO RELY ON EVIDENCE THIS IS WHAT HELP A CASE BETTER IN COURT. I THINK DETECTIVE NEEDS TO THERE JOB IN MORE EFFECTIVE WAY.
marvin you are right and still after he withdrew the charge they murdered his baby brother randy coye so they lived up to their treat
Con is right — it’s time for Belizeans to take the law into our own hands when police and the courts fail. That is what brought law & order to the “wild wild west.” Citizens formed groups called “vigilance committees,” and they rounded up the bad ones that the courts couldn’t touch. Then they did serious justice on them, so the bad ones couldn’t be bad again.
Some of the vigilante groups were even organized and led by real judges, who were sick and tired of seeing criminals get off. And that is what brought law and order to the wild west.
Is it time for Belize to have law and order? The country belongs to the people, so the people should be able to serve out justice.
Elgin martinez, exactly what i had suggested a few months ago, put a hit on the gang leaders/gang members.
when gang leader is killed, a gang member becomes the new gang leader and so on.
kill the animals, spare none.
A list of all these gang members should be released by the Police Department so that people know who they should take care against.
It would also serve as a good asset to groups such as “sombra negra” which many claim have presence in Belize. If the authorities cant do the job, people will take it upon themselves.
Belize will be a better place without these SOB so called gangsters…or better yet wanksters