(l-r) Mark Usher and Rafael Caceres; (Bottom) Joseph Lee Garcia, deceased
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Tues. Mar. 11, 2025
Three men were gunned down in Belize City in separate incidents over the lengthy weekend.
“I must say that we had a very long and rough weekend in Belize City,” Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, told reporters. “It was one of those weekends that tests the police’s ability,” he said.
Mark Usher, 33, of the Fabers Road Extension area in Belize City, was the first murder victim of the weekend. Usher was fatally shot on Saturday night, March 8, after he had purchased a meal from a local restaurant and had entered his parked car prior to leaving the location. While he was in the car, he was ambushed by a gunman at the corner of Jabiru Street.
Commissioner Williams has confirmed that Usher’s death was connected to street rivalry within the area.
“From what we’re seeing in [the] investigation, that’s an issue between the two groups in Fabers Road area. That area has been an issue for some time now with tensions between the two groups that operate in that area, and it is believed that his death is a result of that issue between the two groups … I know of no information where Mark Usher was under any threat. I did hear, though, that there was some issue reported to the police [regarding] the tensions in the Fabers Road Extension area, and LIU [Leadership Intervention Unit] was notified of that issue,” Williams mentioned.
Williams further noted, “The police were trying to find the different players, whose names were called in the issue in that Fabers Road area; but the players, upon [knowing] the police seeking them, they seem to have gone into hiding, and so the police could not have located them. If they had located them, they would have seen what could be done to have [an] intervention session between them.”
Andre Arthurs, charged in fatal shooting of Mark Usher Jr.
One person has been charged in connection with Usher’s death. That person is Andre Arthurs, 27, a construction worker from Burrell Boom Village, who has been charged with the crime of murder.
Less than 24 hours after Usher’s death, another murder took place in the same area, but on Arlington Drive.
The victim, Rafael Caceres, 41, was killed at his home after he had completed a 12-hour work shift. Although police believe that Caceres was an innocent family man in the area, his death is believed to be connected to the murder of Usher on the night before.
“[We believe] that the shooting death of Caceres is a direct retaliation for the death of Mark Usher,” said Commissioner Williams. “Following the death of Mark Usher, we had detained all the Caceres brothers; but we did not go for Rafael because [he] has not been in the loop. He has been a law-abiding citizen, [and] hardworking, so we did not anticipate they would have targeted him. He lives far from the other Caceres brothers, so I guess, because they could not have found the other brothers, they went after the one most vulnerable,” noted Williams.
It has been confirmed that Usher’s alleged shooter (Arthurs) is a known affiliate of the Caceres brothers who reside in the Madam Liz area.
“It is painful for everybody, including us, because the man was doing well and living with his family, not bothering anybody; so, when you venture to kill somebody innocent, just because you couldn’t get the ones that you want, that is troubling, and we take it seriously,” Commissioner Williams remarked.
Lawrence Anthony Polonio, charged for Rafael Caceres murder
Lawrence Anthony Polonio, 33, of Fabers Road has been charged with murder for Caceres’s death.
The last murder for the weekend was a drive-by shooting which occurred on the same day that the shooting of Caceres took place—Sunday, March 9.
Three men were reportedly driving on the Philip Goldson Highway toward Belize City when they noticed that they were being followed by another vehicle. The other vehicle then began traveling beside them, and one of the occupants began firing gunshots in their direction near the Titanic night club at Mile 1 ½ of the highway. Inside the bullet-ridden car was Ronlee Petillo, a known street figure; 22-year-old Joseph Lee Garcia of Dangriga, who died as a result of the shooting; and another man.
“The young man who died is certainly innocent. He is from Dangriga and just came up and took Petillo to the Maxborough area. Because he was with Petillo, he became a victim of those circumstances,” said Commissioner Williams.
Following the shooting, the targeted men sped off to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital seeking medical attention, but crashed into the hospital building.
“I think that their action helped in making sure that they were not injured more because, had they stopped on the scene they were shot, certainly the gunmen would have stopped and finished them off. So, I believe they took the calculated decision [to] speed off to the hospital, and it worked out well for them, I would want to say,” said Williams.
Some members of the community had expected that, with three murders happening in the city over the weekend, the Police Department would have called for a State of Emergency (SOE) to calm the tension within the city; however, Commissioner Williams said that because upcoming elections were soon to take place, there was no Cabinet to approve such an action.
“I would want to think that we would have to wait until after elections and ministers are assigned to whatever portfolio, and then we will go from there,” he said.