Acquittal for murdered south side gangster boss
Nicoli Rhys
Tonight, two well-known street figures are in critical condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after they were sprayed with bullets at a home on the corner of Kraal Road and Benbow Street in Belize City. The shooting shatters the fragile peace on city streets since the two murders last week of Gary Bowen and Edinilson Soriano. We’ll have that story for you, but first we go to the event this morning which may very well have triggered the bloodshed. Freelance reporter Mike Rudon has the story.
Mike Rudon, Reporting
This morning when twenty-two year old Nicoli Rhys walked up the steps to the court of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin, he was handcuffed and covered his face. But he walked down a free man, with handcuffs gone after he was acquitted of the June tenth, 2010 murder of Southside Gang leader Andre Trapp.
Andre Trapp
In June of 2010, Andre Trapp was gunned down as he walked to his vehicle after appearing in Magistrate’s Court. Nicoli Rhys, along with another man, ex-B.D.F. soldier were charged for the murder and remanded.
In September of 2011 the D.P.P. directed that Roches was to be released due to lack of evidence, and this morning, one year and a half later, Rhys was also declared a free man.
Simeon Sampson, Attorney for Nicoli Rhys
“The only evidence against Nicoli was the testimony of the police man Arnold who said that he saw Nicoli’s face for about two to three seconds out there. What killed the case for the prosecution as that four hours after this incident, on the same day, when P.C. Arnold was interviewing his investigating officer, he made absolutely no mention that he had seen the face of this boy exiting from the left hand side, the passenger side of the pickup. He didn’t know this person at all. Then no identification parade was done so the Chief Justice identified those critical issues. And those issues put the case without an unreasonable doubt to acquit Nicoli.”
And with that Rhys was acquitted of the charge of murder and a free man for the first time in nearly three years. Mike Rudon for News Five.
Since our justice system is so terrible the dpp should focus on making sure good clear pictures of the criminals are published. A pity we cant hire the criminals as the system administrators instead. They seem more efficient at getting the job done. The reason for the pictures is to avoid mistaken identity and rampant shooting. Gangbangers no want to waste time with the wrong person.
No surprise here. I saw this one coming. They had better dig a hole and hide Mr Rhys, because I believe his days are numbered. Rhys’ mother is a police officer, her child is an alleged gang member, how can she effectively do her job if she has information on gang activity pertaining to her son’s gang members. There is a vicious cycle in Belize that is so unhealthy for the country. How can a country become so corrupt from the top to the very bottom, where does it stop.
Let’s not forget he confessed, too, and was caught immediately in the area of the crime. I am very dubious of the motive for throwing the confession out.
Live by the gun, die by the gun — let’s see what justice the streets hold for Rhys.
Make no mistake, I think Trapp deserved death, but so does his killer.
It seems trial by judge is no more useful than trial by jury. From now on, I’m for trial by the people, vigilante style.
Meanwhile, Trapp still has friends on the street, so Rhys will have to be looking over his shoulder until a bullet catches him someday, somewhere. What goes around comes around.
Bye bye Rhys your days are numbered.
SSG until they bury us all , remeber killa , jamboy trapp , ball ,ricky , biggs , to many names , SsG is to large for any gang in belize GAZA dead ….
The more the dictionary changes the more the meaning of things are fed to confuse people – even the legal mind. I see you do it,I follow you. I arrest you. Then I still have to do an ID parade! BALLS!!!! If I am an arresting officer of a violent criminal chances are that I will have a gun in my hand while talking to the scum. So what is the big deal if he confesses while I hold the gun. BULL!!!
People need to realize that not everyone who the media plasters on the news is guilty of the crime they are accused of. An accusation is just that… an accusation. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Stop judging and take a deep look into yourselves and your own lives.