A fifth person has been arrested and charged with the deadly shooting incident which occurred on October 2nd at Cangrejo Caye area near San Pedro Town resulting in the death of Jerry Espat. On Monday, October 18th, 31-year-old Carlos Salazar, a fisherman of the San Mateo subdivision was formally charged for the crime of Murder, Attempted Murder, Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and Wounding.
Salazar joins Gabriel Villafranco, brothers Pedro and Serio Tun and Delson Paguada, also accused of being involved in the Cangrejo Caye shoot-out. On October 5th, Villafranco was arraigned for the charges of Murder, Attempted Murder, Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and Wounding. The Tun brothers were arraigned for the charges of (2) counts of Attempted Murder, (2) counts of Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and (1) count of Grievous Harm.
On October 12th, Paguada was arraigned at the San Pedro Magistrate Court for the charges of Attempted Murder, Grievous Harm, Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and Wounding. He handed himself over to the police accompanied by an attorney. Paguada had been allegedly on the run for days. The handful of accused islanders will be at the Kolbe Foundation-Belize Central Prison until January 5, 2022, when they return to court.
The deadly shoot-out
According to an official report from police, Jerry, 25, and his three brothers 27-year-old Luis Enrique Santoya, 23-year-old Ricardo Anthony Espat, and 26-year-old Kirian Espat from the San Pedrito area of San Pedro Town were out fishing on Saturday, October 2nd when they were approached by two boats carrying a group of men. Santoya reported that one of the men from the approaching boats pulled out a firearm and fired several shots towards him and Ricardo. As a result, Santoya received a gunshot wound to his body, below his left knee. The armed attacked continued, resulting in the death of Jerry, who according to Kirian was shot several times in the back. Kirian was grazed to his right cheek and abdomen. Santoya and Ricardo managed to get away from the area in their boat, pursued by the gunmen. When they got back to the island, they were treated at the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II. Santoya was airlifted to Belize City for further medical attention. A search began for Jerry, but his lifeless body was not found until the following day.
