SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Belize District, Wed. Jan. 24, 2018– On Tuesday evening, a high-ranking member of the George Street Gang, Jaimell Paul Jex, 32, secured bail in the San Pedro Magistrate’s court after he was busted with 15 grams of marijuana.
However, less than 15 minutes after securing his freedom, he was ruthlessly executed.
Police investigations revealed that Jex and his cousin, Deon Neal, 32, had both exited court and were walking on Crocodile Street in the San Pedrito area of San Pedro Town at about 5:30 on Tuesday evening when they were ambushed.
Two armed assailants emerged and set chase after the men, firing a barrage of gunshots, and injuring both targets.
Jex was shot in the head and died on the scene, while Neal escaped with his life.
However, he collapsed on Pescador Drive and was taken to the San Pedro Polyclinic and later the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where he remains in a stable condition.
Amandala archives reveal that Jex and Neal are no strangers to the law. In 2014, Jex had walked free from charges for the 2010 murder of Aubrey Lopez, 30, after the main witness in the case refused to testify.
Lopez was a much-loved teacher at Edward P. Yorke, an elite basketball player and a son of former Belmopan mayor, Simeon Lopez.
On the night of May 12 in 2010, Lopez was shot in his head and thrown out of his Nissan Altima onto Prince Street in Belize City. His killers then drove his car to the Yarborough area, where they then went on a shooting spree. His murder caused a public outcry. His killers were never brought to justice.
In 2008, Neal walked from charges for the 2006 rape of a 22-year-old woman after the prosecution could not locate the key witness.
Today, Amandala spoke with Jenisse Ramirez, a sister of the deceased. According to her, she knew her brother was marked for death, but she didn’t expect he would die the way he did.
She further said that she only learnt of his demise while watching the evening news.
“That was traumatizing and hurtful,” she said.
Her brother was not perfect, but he was loved, she told Amandala.
She confirmed that he was a gang member, but she explained that he wanted to change his life so as to play a greater role in the lives of his four sons. According to the distraught sister, her brother couldn’t be with his children the way he wanted to because of the lifestyle he had lived.
Last Saturday was the last time Jex was seen by his family. He had visited his children and his mother. Thereafter, he left on a boat to go back to San Pedro Town.
Jex is the third of his mother’s six children to have been killed.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Alejandro Cowo, police are preparing to counter any attempts at retaliation for the murder on the island.
In the meantime, two men have been detained pending investigation in connection with the fatal shooting of Jex.