Photo: (l-r) Jeffrey Contreras and Eric Miranda; Sean Menzies, deceased

by Roy Davis (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Dec. 15, 2023

Two men, Jeffrey Contreras, 24, and Eric Miranda, 21, who were convicted of the murder of Sean Menzies, 57, were sentenced to life imprisonment today by Justice Ricardo Sandcroft. Miranda has to serve 30 years in prison, less 3 years and 1 month, before he will be eligible for parole. Contreras has to serve 30 years, less 8 months, before he will be eligible for parole.

Before he passed the sentences, Justice Sandcroft said that sentencing is the most difficult job a judge has to do, and that he did not enjoy doing it; but a life had been taken. Miranda said in his mitigation plea that he has become a Christian since his incarceration, and he received the highest score in the exam for a class he took at the prison. Justice Sandcroft noted from his social inquiry report that his mother died when he was 11, and that he does not know his father. Contreras gave a short speech in which he expressed remorse.

Menzies, a sales manager for Bowen and Bowen, was fatally shot at about 11:00 p.m. on November 18, 2020. He was leaning over the fence of his yard on Lancaster Street, smoking a cigarette, when his assailant rode by on a bicycle and shot him in his head.

Contreras and Miranda were found guilty on November 2, 2023.

During the trial, one of the main witnesses was Iran “Basco” Jones. He was later shot and killed. Another main witness, Jayden Herrera, was declared a hostile witness after he testified that he could not remember the incident. Herrera, who is on remand for a charge of murder, was later charged with Menzies’ murder.

At the sentencing, Contreras was represented by attorney Darrell Bradley, while Miranda’s attorney, Arthur Saldivar, made no appearance.

The Crown was represented by Crown Counsel Portia Ferguson.