Killer/rapist sentenced to 18 yrs. behind bars

A man convicted of rape and manslaughter has been sentenced to spend the next eighteen years behind bars. Fifty year old Epifanio Guerra, who pled guilty to both charges on Tuesday, appeared before Justice Troadio Gonzalez this morning to learn his fate. Gonzalez said he took into consideration both the severity of the crime and the fact that this was the defendant’s first conviction. He then sentenced Gonzalez to eighteen years in jail for the manslaughter of Belmopan farmer Lionel Moralez and twelve years behind bars for the rape of Moralez’s wife, Martha Gonzalez. The sentences are to run concurrently meaning, Guerra will spend the longer of the two in Hattieville Prison. In March 2005, both men were quarrelling over the sale of vegetables at the victim’s farm. The dispute ended when Guerra pulled out a twelve gauge shot gun and fired it at Moralez. As the bleeding man lay on the ground, Guerra then raped Gonzalez. According to investigators, following the attack the defendant then went to his home in Maya Mopan, took a bath, and waited for the cops to show up. He did not resist arrest. During trial Guerra was represented by attorney Hubert Elrington while Cheryl-Lynn Branker Taitt prosecuted.