DANGRIGA, Stann Creek District, Tues. Oct. 3, 2017–Farm owner Lyndon Lewis, 46, of Valley Community, Stann Creek District, has been arrested and charged with murder for the death of Luis Sierra, 46 a butcher and businessman of Bullet Tree Falls, Cayo District, who was shot and killed on his, Lewis’, farm.
Police said that Lewis was initially charged with conspiracy to robbery and was taken to the Dangriga Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where he was offered bail of $3,000, but he was rearrested as the investigation into Sierra’s death continued, and after further investigation, Lewis was then charged with murder.
Lewis was arraigned on the capital offense, and he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until November 6.
Police say that Lyndon Lewis lured Sierra to his farm last Thursday under the pretense that he was going to sell him cows at a very reasonable price, and that he colluded with Saul Campos to rob him.
Police believe that Campos was the gunman who shot and killed Sierra, and Lewis colluded with him by luring Sierra to the farm.
When Sierra told his brother that he was going to Valley Community to inspect the cows that were being sold to him, reportedly at a very reasonable price, his brother said that he became suspicious that the cattle may have been stolen, and warned Sierra not to go.
Ramon Teck, 30, of Bullet Tree, who was with Sierra, told police that on Thursday evening when they arrived at the farm, which is about 400 meters from the highway, they were taken to Lewis’ house.
After talking with Teck and Sierra a while, Lewis reportedly took them to his pasture to see the animals. Teck said that when they got there, however, all they saw was high bush. They didn’t see any animals.
When they walked back to the house, Teck said, Lewis walked at a distance behind them, and then a man jumped out of some bushes, where apparently he had been hiding, and shot Sierra in the stomach.
Teck told police that after shooting Sierra, the killer chased him, Teck, and tried to shoot him, but the gun snapped. After the gun failed to fire, the bandit, who was unknown to them, escaped into the bushes.
Sierra, meanwhile, used his cell phone to call his family and friends, telling them that he had been shot and that he was dying. His family immediately alerted Dangriga police, who went to the area to look for him.
Teck said he then left the area to seek help and to alert police. When the police arrived at about 4:30 that evening, he went with them to find Sierra. The search party brought the search to a halt when it became too dark to continue.
On Friday morning at about 9:00, another search party which included police and Sierra’s family and friends resumed looking for him, and at about 11:30 in the morning, about 200 meters away from the farm house, Sierra was found. Unfortunately, he was already dead.
Sierra’s family and police strongly believe that the promise of sale of cows at a very reasonable price was just a set-up to get Sierra to the farm to ambush and rob him..