Yesterday, funeral services were held at St. John’s Cathedral for prominent businessman, Richard Arthur Nigel Hoare, 34, who was last week Wednesday, August 1, shot and killed on Vasquez Avenue.
Hoare was killed after being shot in the back of his head in his vehicle on Vasquez Avenue around 9:30 p.m. last Wednesday night, August 1. He was apparently driving the vehicle, a silver Toyota Prado (license BZ-C-31089), when he was shot, and the vehicle went on to run into a red Mazda pickup that was parked on the street.
The Prado then creased the gate and then ran into the post of a garage at the residence of James Bradley, who lives at #5614 Vasquez Avenue.
For days police were clueless as to who would want one of Belize’s multimillionaires dead, after he had inherited Baymen Cable Network from his parents, Arthur and Marie Hoare, who were pioneers of cable TV in Belize and are both now deceased.
Apart from his inheritance, Hoare had major investments in tourism (including Tropical Dreams Resort in Placencia) and owned orange orchards and a cattle ranch in More Tomorrow, in addition to several thoroughbred horses.
(For more information on this story, please see the headline article in our Sunday, August 5,2007, issue #2166 of the Amandala titled, “Young, wealthy and dead!”)
A teenager, 19, on Monday appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court #4, where she was charged with possession of drugs.
She pleaded not guilty and was offered bail of $400, which she met.
What does this have to do with Hoare’s death? Well, according to Police Press Officer, G. Michael Reid, police’s investigation into Hoare’s death has revealed that a cell phone belonging to the woman was found inside Hoare’s Prado.
With that information, police on Monday acted immediately and the teenager, who was already at the Philip Goldson International Airport intending to board an international flight to leave the country, was detained.
The teenager is claiming that the reason why her cell phone was in Hoare’s vehicle was because she got a ride from him earlier that day, and forgot her phone inside the vehicle.
Police have not been able to extract any other information from her, and therefore, they did not have enough reason to make an arrest, and she was released.
Police had said that eyewitnesses had indicated to them that two men were seen running from Hoare’s vehicle after a shot was heard, and he collided with the pickup and into James Bradley’s gate.