Photo: Randolph Crawford, deceased
by Charles Gladden
COROZAL, Mon. May 8, 2023
The man who drowned in the New River near Pueblo Nuevo Ferry on the Corozal-Progresso Road in Northern Belize on Thursday afternoon has been identified as 27-year-old Randolph Crawford of the Corozal District.
While Crawford is the only person who perished as a result of the incident, which reportedly involved an exchange of gunfire between the occupants of two vehicles which were speeding along the road that led to the ferry, four persons received injuries. Those men have been identified as 30-year-old Benigno Loria and 20-year-old Sergio Hall, both of Corozal Town, who sought medical attention at the Northern Medical Plaza, as well as 24-year-old Stanislaus Daniel O’Neil of Belize City and 27-year-old Akeem Trapp of Flowers Bank in the Belize District, who were both transported to the Corozal Community Hospital and then to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for treatment.
According to reports, just before 1:30 p.m., a Ford Escape was in heavy pursuit of a GMC Terrain SUV and shots were reportedly fired from the Ford Escape—reportedly from high-powered rifles and 9 millimeter pistols, at the SUV. During the shooting spree, Crawford jumped out of the GMC and then into the river, where he is believed to have drowned.
Both vehicles then returned to the path from which they had arrived at the ferry, with the Ford Escape continuing its chase after the GMC until it overturned, injuring O’Neil and Trapp, while Hall and Loria went to seek medical treatment of the gunshot wounds they sustained.
When Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams met with the national media last Friday, he confirmed that the incident is drug-related; however, he said that Loria isn’t cooperating with the police in regards to the incident.
“We believe it’s drug-related, but the sad part about this is that whenever he [Loria] is involved in these [types] of incidents, he never cooperates with the police; and that makes it extremely difficult for us to solve the crimes as it relates to him,” Williams said.
ACP Hilberto Romero, OC Eastern Division told the media on Monday, May 8, that a post-mortem will be conducted on Crawford’s body to determine whether charges will be levied on any individual.
ACP Romero noted that if charges are to be levied, it will be attempted murder.
Benigno Loria’s name has been in the news numerous times in the past. In 2014, he was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, as he and a couple of his companions allegedly held up a Mexican businessman and robbed him of 1.25 million pesos, converted at the time to 208,000 Belize dollars. But he was never convicted. Before the recent event, in 2020, an attempt was made on his life, in which he was hit multiple times with gunshots at his home.
The deceased, Randolph Crawford, had an extensive rap sheet as well, but notably in 2019, he was accused of being involved in a heist at the Corozal border where he reportedly stole over $15,000 in various currencies.