Former Caye Caulker police officers Hallet King and Leonard Nuñez have been ordered to return to prison after the Belize Court of Appeal increased their sentences to 10 years and two months for the 2015 manslaughter of Hilberto Sotz. The decision follows a January ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which reinstated the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against what it found to be an inadequate sentence.
Sotz, 18, died while in police custody at the Caye Caulker Police Station in June 2015 after being detained for questioning in connection with a burglary. Prosecutors alleged that King and Nuñez beat him while he was in custody. The incident sparked public outrage in Caye Caulker.
The two officers were initially charged with murder, but the charge was later reduced to manslaughter. They were convicted in July 2019 and remanded to the Belize Central Prison pending sentencing. Later that year, they received nine-month prison sentences. Having already spent approximately ten months on remand before trial, they were released in August 2019 after receiving credit for time served.
Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Vidal appealed the sentence, arguing that a nine-month prison term for the fatal beating of a detainee was manifestly inadequate. The matter eventually reached the Caribbean Court of Justice, which in January 2026 ruled that the Belize Court of Appeal should hear the appeal against the sentence.
In its decision delivered on July 16, the Court of Appeal ruled that the original nine-month sentence for the fatal beating was “wholly outside the permissible range” and described it as a gross distortion of the jury’s verdict.
Applying the 2025 Senior Courts Sentencing Guidelines, the court determined that the appropriate starting point was an 18-year prison sentence. That sentence was reduced to 15 years in recognition of the officers’ previous good character and further reduced to reflect the lengthy delays in the proceedings. After crediting the 10 months both men had already spent on remand, the court imposed a final sentence of 10 years and two months’ imprisonment for each former officer.
According to court reports, King and Nuñez were ordered to surrender to the Queen Street Police Station in Belize City by July 29, 2026, to begin serving their sentences at the Belize Central Prison.
The Sotz family said they never gave up hope of seeing justice served. They welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision, saying it finally holds the former police officers accountable for the death of their son.