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As Ricky lived, so did Ricky die!

GeneralAs Ricky lived, so did Ricky die!
One of the two men scheduled to be the first to stand trial without a jury has been murdered.
  
Ricky Valencia, 28, also known as Valencio, was slated to stand trial for the attempted murder of attorney Rodwell Williams, in June of 2010.
  
Valencia was fatally wounded after he was shot multiple times last night around 9:30 while driving a car on Queen Charlotte Street. The attack took place not far from his home on Caesar Ridge Road, and both streets are in the vicinity of Cumberbatch Field.
  
Unconfirmed reports are that three other persons were along with Valencia when the shooting occurred, but to their knowledge, police say, only Valencia was in the vehicle, driving towards the port, and he was alone.
  
Police said that when they arrived at the scene, they saw that Valencia had suffered gunshot wounds in the right and left side of the temple, right and left upper shoulders, and left fist. He was seated in the driver’s seat in a pool of blood, and that the door was open.
           
We understand that the post-mortem is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday.
  
On May 20, 2010, at around 8:00 p.m., Williams, Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s law partner, was shot whilst leaving the law firm, Barrow& Williams, on Albert Street. Williams was seriously wounded and was later flown out of the country for treatment. We later learned that he had undergone surgery at the Jackson’s Memorial Hospital in Florida.  
           
Almost a week after the attempted murder, police said that they had detained two men.
           
On June 7, 2010, Valencia and Akeem Thurton, 18, were jointly charged with attempted murder, dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm. The two were remanded to prison and bail had been denied until in October, when bail of $8,000 was offered to both men. The men, however, did not meet bail until November.   
           
In April 2011, Valencia made the news once more when he was charged in relation to the Heritage Bank robbery in Orange Walk Town. Reportedly over two hundred thousand dollars were stolen from the bank’s vault after two dark men entered the bank and forced the manager to open the vault.
  
The security guard was also reportedly held at gunpoint by one of the assailants.
  
Four other persons, Samantha Carlos, 26, a former beauty queen and manager at the bank; Harold Valencia (or Valencio), 31, a lance corporal in the Belize Defence Force (BDF) and relative of Ricky Valencia; Marva Welch and Noel Usher, 30, who was killed after he was shot in October 2011, just a few feet away from his home, while riding his bicycle on Reggae Street, were said to be involved.
  
Reportedly, the two dark-skinned men, riding separate bicycles, had approached Usher from behind and fired several shots at him. Usher suffered one gunshot wound to the head, four to the back and one on the left foot,
  
Ricky Valencia, in relation to the bank robbery, was charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Meanwhile, Usher was charged with robbery, and Harold Valencia and Carlos were both charged with conspiracy to commit robbery. Marva Welch was charged with handling stolen goods.
           
Carlos is out on bail.
           
Just two weeks ago, Valencia and Thurton had appeared before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin for the commencement of their trial without jury. A request for an adjournment was made on behalf of Thurton because he was having difficulty in securing legal representation. 
   
The matter was adjourned to February 27, but five days short of that date, Valencia was murdered.
  
Police reportedly have no suspects at this time.

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