BELIZE CITY, Mon. Mar. 5, 2018– The Belize Court of Appeal, in its session which began today, has reserved its judgment for the appeal of Toni Pasos, 32, who was charged with murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 17 years in prison for the stabbing of Miguel “Chino” Medina, 51.
The trial judge, Justice Herbert Lord, who was both judge and jury, had found that it was a case of provocation, and as a result, delivered a verdict of guilty of manslaughter on August 25, 2016.
Pasos’ attorney, Hubert Elrington, only appealed his sentence, and not his conviction.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, who represented the respondent, submitted that the range of sentencing for manslaughter is 12 to 25 years.
Medina, a resident of Fonseca Street in Orange Walk Town, was stabbed 50 times around 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2014. Evidence gathered by police indicates that he was lying on a mattress in his bedroom, socializing with Pasos and two other men, when he insulted Pasos and Pasos drew a knife and stabbed him.