by Charles Gladden
Julian Henry, a 26-year-old businessman also known as “Dus Up”, was arrested and charged over the weekend with manslaughter by negligence after he accidentally fired his licensed 16- gauge shotgun inside his home and killed Belmopan labourer, 21-year-old Daniel Orellano, who was outside when the gun went off.
According to initial police reports, on Friday, July 22, at approximately 6:50 p.m., Henry, along with two other male persons, was inside his home on Mariposa Street cleaning his weapon in preparation for a hunting trip when the gun accidentally went off, and the pellets inside of the gun barrel went through an open window of the wooden structure. Those pellets hit Orellano in his face and neck, killing him instantly.
When police arrived at the scene, they found Orellano lying motionless over his bicycle in front of Henry’s wooden home in a face-up position with blood gushing out his wounds.
Communications Director of the Belize Police Department, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, told the local media during Monday’s press briefing that Henry and two other male individuals who were present at the time of the incident were detained, but solely Henry was charged with the crime.
A member of the local media asked ASP Yearwood whether or not the timeline of events described by Henry was factual and whether there is reason to disregard it.
“Initially when I got this report on Friday, I spoke to OC Belmopan at length, where he explained to me, emphatically, that he would investigate all angles and submit his findings and wait on the advice of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) office. When I got the information last night that charges have been levied against Julian Henry, I am certain that he did what he said he was going to do and that was the directives,” said ASP Yearwood.
Lucia Leiva, the aunt of the deceased, speaking Spanish which was translated, described what took place when she found out that her nephew, whom she considers a son, was killed.
“Well, that day, he came here to eat, and he went, because he had a girlfriend around that area, and then they told me what happened there. My nephew is like my son. He never had any problems with anyone or had any friends. He was someone happy, and loves to play football and loves to participate in events, when in there was barbeque, and he helps. So he came, ate, took a shower, and went. Like around an hour or so, someone called me that there was a problem and that he got into an accident and that he was in the ambulance and that maybe he was shot, but I never thought that he would’ve been killed. When the police came, I went with them, and when I got to the hospital, they wouldn’t let me see him, because he was already dead,” she said.
Leiva said that Henry should be imprisoned, regardless of whether her nephew’s death was an accident.
“I don’t want this to continue happening. Let them put him in jail and let him pay for what he did, because my nephew wasn’t a dog. He was a person who just began to live out his life, and he was only twenty-two years,” she continued.
A member of the local media asked ASP Yearwood why Orellano had been present at Henry’s home at the time of the incident, but he refrained from giving a response, and indicated that such questions would be addressed when Henry is taken to court.
Orellano was known to be a supporter of Belmopan area representative, Hon. Oscar Mira, in the period leading up to the general elections. After learning the news of his passing, Hon. Mira took to social media and expressed his condolences to Orellano’s family.
“As the news spread last night of the tragedy In Las Flores, the Las Flores PUP family was in disbelief at the news of the death of Daniel Orellano. Words cannot describe the sadness in my heart. An absolutely nice young man, with an entire life ahead of him, it’s even harder to understand this tragedy. I stand ready to provide support. The outpouring of grief from his friends and family attests to the nature of this young man. Las Flores grieves”