Minors charged with abetment to murder sent to hostel
Shamir Gonzalez
Last Thursday we told you about the murder of nineteen year old Shamir Gonzalez who was killed in a fight on the Louisiana Government School compound in Orange Walk. According to the Orange Walk Police, while investigations are ongoing, they do not anticipate any further arrests in Shamir’s murder as family members of the suspects speculate. He went to the school on Wednesday evening to accompany his younger brother, fourteen year old Yassir Gonzalez, who was threatened earlier by a group of boys. The threat was over a girl who was seen walking with the youngest of the Gonzalez brothers, ten year old Zair. But that Wednesday afternoon shortly after three-thirty, it all came to a head as the group lay-waited the brothers and a fight followed during which Yassir was also injured. He was dealt a single blow with a metal pipe to the back of the head and died on the way to the Northern Regional Hospital. While there have been numerous conflicting reports circulating about the young men and minors involved, the police said that the case is being handled according to the books, as a murder case. Two minors, thirteen and fifteen years old, as well as twenty year old Adoni Jah have been charged with abetment to commit murder. The teens were remanded to the Belize Youth Hostel. The seventeen year old who was charged with murder has been remanded to Boot Camp. We note that the fifteen year old and the seventeen year old are brothers.
There are two sets of parents & some teachers here who definitely need counseling & parenting classes, maybe even some time in jail.
Charge them all as adults. Their innocence was lost the day they contemplated that senseless murder.
will these young people get counseling? they need it.
what violence in our children now days. It is sad.
Murder is not a prank. We need to re-examine the laws about youthful offenders. These “kids” are copying adult lifestyles and committing adult crimes. Most countries have an option to prosecute them as adults if they commit serious crimes.
Belize should change its laws to prosecute criminals as adults if they commit serious crimes like murder, robbery, and rape. Lower the age for those crimes to 16 or even 14 years.
Protect Belize!
@ STORM
the Law in Belize is that once you are above 10 years old you are capable of committing a crime at law. you are no longer doli incapax; to use the Latin phrase. The in camera proceedings are aimed at ensuring that if these minors are acquitted, they are not stigmatized by those who happen to see the trial in court. That’s why they say innocent until proven guilty……When the jury acquits they say “not guilty” they don’t say “innocent” because the word innocent has a whole different meaning. It would mean that there was never any reason to even bring a trial which is quite a different thing from saying “not guilty” which means that the jury were unable to agree as to the culpability of the acccused.
Counseling? Lock em up 25 to life! that should be the punishment for a minor committing pre meditated MURDER! To hell with BOOT CAMP! That for a kid that vandalizes or steal something.
I no care how they charge, minor or adult, only that they serve the public with swift and fair justice. That boy dead. Over nothing. THis is pre-meditated and should be treated as such. 25 to life on Earl’s Prison Farm!