Police are looking for Raymond “Big Thug” Myers, Jr., 26, of Belize City, in connection with the murder of Francis Figueroa, 27, of Belize City.
At 7:30 Friday night, according to the police report, Figueroa and Myers were said to be fighting on Vernon Street and according to police, Myers stabbed Figueroa several times. Figueroa died on arrival at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
But the reason for the fight and Figueroa’s death seems silly in retrospect.
The confrontation took place in front of the yard next to Royal Wholesale and Retail (Red House) on Vernon Street. Myers had reportedly been drinking in the nearby bar on Conch Shell Bay, while Figueroa, an employee of Red House who lived on Ebony Street nearby, was on his way back home, having left work a few hours earlier, after paying off a small loan to a friend of his who was in the area.
According to eyewitnesses, Figueroa told his friend that his “Sabbath” was about to start. Figueroa is a Seventh-Day Adventist; members of this Christian denomination celebrate the Jewish Sabbath Day, a weekly rest day, on the seventh day of the week, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and attend church services early on Saturday morning, as opposed to the Sunday celebration in other denominations.
Myers, standing nearby, reportedly took offense at the comment and started to make derogatory comments about Figueroa and his religion, calling him a “pussy” and a homosexual, among other things.
Figueroa’s employer and proprietor of Royal Wholesale, Martin Galvez, told us he believes non-Adventists often make fun of Adventists for their staunch beliefs and avoidance of worldly vices such as alcohol, but reiterated to Amandala that Adventists are not somehow “weaker” than believers of other denominations and religions because they do not subscribe to such vices. (Galvez is Roman Catholic.)
In any event, Myers threw a punch and Figueroa reportedly asked him why he would start a fight, especially since they were friends. But Figueroa then hit back and the two struggled there in the yard in front of witnesses.
Figueroa, trained in a style of kickboxing and martial arts during a short stay in the United States before being deported on allegations of illegal entry, apparently put Myers in a “sleeper hold”, but no one expected, according to Galvez, that it would get further than that.
But it did, as according to witnesses on the scene, a “gold-colored taxi” arrived at almost the same time, and its occupants (we were not told how many) apparently saw what happened, jumped out and joined the fight.
They quickly overpowered Figueroa, one shouting, “Fi dis yu wahn dead!” and a knife was produced and Figueroa was stabbed eight times in the face, back, and chest. One of the deeper-penetrating stabs near the heart allegedly caused his death.
Even so, Figueroa still had enough strength to get away from his attackers and run up the steps of the building adjoining the lot in which the battle took place. Myers was hustled away and Figueroa, though bleeding, allegedly refused assistance.
But when he tried to get up to come back down the steps and appeared to stagger, witnesses took over and he was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. On the way he complained of trouble breathing and died on arrival.
The sudden loss is another body blow for Martin Galvez, who lost his son Christopher, 23, to gun violence in December. That case is still unsolved. Francis Figueroa and Christopher Galvez were good friends and rode bicycles and played football together as kids and teenagers.
Figueroa was not a violent person and was always welcome among his family, Martin told us. His death leaves us, “…in a state of shock – I watched these young men, Francis, Big Thug, my son, grow up together, playing in my yard. They were friends of my family. And now for Francis to be dead and (Myers) on the run – it’s a shock.”
Figueroa was preparing to build a house here in Belize City and had been promised land in the Belize River Valley. He had only been working at Red House for a month before his sudden passing.
Francis Figueroa’s funeral is tentatively set for later this week. At press time there is no word on Myers, who remains at large.