Third murder of the year takes place on familiar turf
Murder number three for 2008—and the second for Belize City—took place last night in a familiar place and involved a name not unknown to police. News Five’s Janelle Chanona has the story.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Around eight-thirty last night, twenty-one year old Carlton Tasher was riding his bicycle on Gill Street when a lone gunman walked up to him and shot him a number of times. The badly bleeding man was rushed to the hospital by a resident of the area but on the way there, Tasher fell out of the truck.
Assistant Superintendent Aaron Guzman, OC, CIB
“Now we must consider that the gentleman was doing a good Samaritan’s turn and he was alone as far as we know so I don’t know if Mr. Tasher tried to get out of the pick-up truck maybe from the pain or whatever. The police eventually assisted and he was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial. At eight-fifty, the doctors pronounced Mr. Tasher dead.”
Doctors have since determined that the deceased was struck by at least five bullets: three in the torso, one to the hand and another in the leg. The murder weapon is believed to be a nine millimetre pistol. Seven expended shells, a slug and the fragments of a bullet have been recovered from the scene.
In 2004, Tasher was one of two men charged for the January murder of twenty-five year old Michael Skeet. He was never convicted. Last July he was charged again, this time with Attempted Murder following the shooting of twenty-six year old Jason Gentle. He walked away from those charges two months ago.
Janelle Chanona
“Do you think he saw this coming?”
Cherry Tasher, Mother of Deceased
“Not really, not really. I think, how I hear like dah somebody just hail ah and he gawn by deh so and they just shat ah.”
According to Cherry Tasher, her son was a “bad bway” but police say they are investigating the homicide from all angles. This afternoon police formally charged twenty-two year old construction worker Kyle Edwards of a Reggae Street with Tasher’s Murder.
Aaron Guzman
“We believe that person to be our prime suspect so we are putting together certain evidence to probably lay charges against him.”
Janelle Chanona
“Was Mr. Tasher’s past, the connection, you think a motive in the shooting?”
Aaron Guzman
“It could be. It could be that that was a motive behind the shooting but we are leaving the investigation open because we wouldn’t like to narrow it down to just that and then at the end of the day, it may be something else, it could be an old beef.”
A team of police officers frequently patrol Gill Street but the area is considered a hot spot.
Aaron Guzman
“We have seen several shootings in the Gill Street area however what I must say about this shooting is that we’ve seen good cooperation from witnesses and it is my opinion that if witnesses cooperate with us then those persons involved in the shootings will be arrested one, that’s a deterrent and will be deterred to know that witnesses will come forth and say what was done. So with the help of the public, we hope to deter shooting in the area completely.”
Tasher is survived by his family and his girlfriend, who is eight months pregnant. A funeral has tentatively been planned for Friday. Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
