_{Photo: Shane Jones}

by Roy Davis (freelance writer)

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 19, 2024

In a judgement he read that was 28 pages long, Justice Nigel Pilgrim said he has found Shane Jones, 37, guilty of manslaughter in causing the death of Edwin Usher, 49.

Usher was mercilessly beaten by Jones on November 23, 2019, on Vernon Street. Usher succumbed to his injuries on November 30, 2019, after he had received brain surgery at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.

The Crown sought to prove its case mainly by way of three video footages that were obtained from outside a bar in front of which the incident occurred. Two of the footages clearly showed that it was Jones who initiated the altercation between Usher and himself by punching Usher. The footages also showed that when Usher fell to the pavement and was lying down motionless, Jones punched him 8 times in his face and stomped him on his head.

Dr. Mario Estradabran, pathologist, concluded that Usher died from bleeding in his brain caused by blunt force trauma.

Justice Pilgrim said that Jones had used force that was unreasonable and unjustified, and that there was no evidence that it was a case of medical negligence. He also said that there was no evidence that Usher had any weapon.

Jones gave a statement from the dock in which he claimed that he was defending himself from two persons. He said that a lady sent him to a shop to buy and he dropped the money before he could make the purchase. He said one of two men picked up the money, and when he confronted them, he was told by one of the men that his brother was going to kill him, and that was when the altercation ensued.

The court found that there was no evidence that a threat was made to kill Jones. The video footages did not have any sound.

Jones, who was on bail, was remanded into custody at Belize Central Prison until January 29, 2025, when a sentencing hearing will be held.

Jones was represented by attorney Norman Moore, Jr., while the Crown was represented by Crown Counsel Robert Lord, who held brief for Crown Counsel Glenfield Dennison.