Another execution style murder dampens holiday mood
It was a weekend of high energy and spirits and while much of the positive activity was directed toward the carnival road march and celebration of Independence, a surprisingly sizeable number of Belizeans chose to engage in criminal pursuits. The list is long and the crimes are varied. I’ll begin with the most recent of the holiday homicides.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Around two on Sunday afternoon Curlin Felix better known as “cluck cluck” was in the company of one Kevin Hendy and another person. The three young men
were sitting under this bus stop on Central American Boulevard when a lone gunman approached them and opened fire. One of the bullets caught Hendy in his leg and as the trio started to run away, Felix reportedly fell in the
drain. The shooter then reportedly stood over Felix and fired at least five more shots.
At the crime scene the police did allow the victim’s mother to see her son. Today she declined an interview but said she had gotten into a habit of calling him because she had grown concerned over his safety
The police said Felix was no stranger to them. According to the officer commanding the Belize City Crime Investigation Branch, Superintendent Aaron Guzman they are still trying to find out why Felix was killed.
Jacqueline Godwin
“Were these guys being threatened, was it as a result of a misunderstanding or this ongoing rivalry with groups?”
Aaron Guzman, O.C CIB, Belize City
“I don’t know that it’s any of those things that you mentioned to me. It could also be an opportunity someone saw to get after Mister Felix or it could be some rift they have between each other. I am not sure at this stage.”
Jacqueline Godwin
“I know in the last police press conference they said one way the authorities were planning to address this situation was that there would be a far more visible sign of police presence. Do you know if there was any patrol in that area at the time this crime occurred?”
Aaron Guzman
“Well what I can tell you is it hat five minutes before the shooting, those three young men were searched by a patrol vehicle about five minutes before. So they were searched and they were sitting there under the shed and it’s a public place to a certain extent. So they were searched but nothing was found and they were left there.”
The police would not discuss who they have detained for the homicide only that on Tuesday it is likely that one of the three in custody, will be charged for the crime. Guzman says as hard as the police have been working to address crime they are counting heavily on community support to help win the fight.
Supt Aaron Guzman
“If and when an incident occurs out there, ninety-nine percent of the time police officers will not be there present. So then we have to rely on witnesses to give statements. Now people might say we don’t have any witness protection programme, however let us think back from the older days when we were younger when persons out there would stood up for their neighbourhood, stood up for what they believed in and go to court and testify as to what they saw and make a stand against what is wrong.”
