Honduran national, Miguel Rivera, 59, a fruit and vegetable vendor of Boston Village, Belize District, was shot and killed on Friday night sometime after 8:00 near the Dean Street Bridge that crosses West Canal.
Street sources told Amandala that the murder may have been a case of mistaken identity. Rivera, we were told, had on a sweater or coat that resembled one that a man had worn when he had witnessed a robbery, and the thieves had returned to “deal with him.”
And today, three days after the murder, police, in a press release sent out today, Monday, say that they have “formally arrested and charged Ronlee Petillo, 23, of a Watermelon Street address, and Matthew Smith, 18, of a Tigris Street address, for the crime of murder.”
Petillo is no stranger to the law; in the past, he had been charged with aggravated assault, harm, attempted murder, and murder.
Rivera, the father of 7, who had been residing in Belize for the past 10 years and had been selling his merchandise at the Michael Finnegan Market, was struck by a single bullet to the head.
According to police reports, Rivera was seated and conversing with Juan Guardado at his stall, which is close to the bridge, when an assailant just walked up to him and shot him.
Reportedly, three men on separate bicycles had come to the area, and they all rode up the bridge. One stayed, and the other two left.
The two who had left came back only moments later, and one of them fired the shot that killed Rivera. The three men then sped away.
One individual told Amandala that at the time of the incident, he was seated in his pickup truck when he heard the single gunshot go off, and a couple minutes later, another went off near Amara Avenue, not too far away.
The individual also said that the men had ridden their bikes across the bridge into Amara Avenue after the shooting, but that one of them returned to assure himself that Rivera was indeed dead.
Another individual said that Rivera had just bought a tamales and was about to eat it when he was killed.
Jose Obidio, Rivera’s son, is devastated over his father’s death, and so are most of the vendors, who knew and interacted with Rivera.
Obidio says that it would appear that Rivera was not the intended target, that he might have been mistaken for someone else.
According to Obidio, information to the family is that on the night of the murder, Rivera was dressed in a sweater or coat similar to what another person had been wearing, the intended target.
A source told us that the “intended target” had witnessed a robbery earlier that day, and that the men, who had come to kill the witness, mistakenly pinpointed Rivera as the man who had witnessed the robbery.
That robbery, according to our source, had taken place sometime on Friday morning. Reportedly, a man of dark complexion had been keenly observing a woman at the Novelo’s Bus Station, and, when the opportunity presented itself, he rushed to her and ripped her chain away.
The assailant was later shot in the foot by the police and taken into custody. Police say that they did not get that report, but all the vendors with whom we spoke said that the incident did happen.
This “intended target,” we understand, is also a vendor at the Michael Finnegan Market. We are told this afternoon that fearing for his life and believing that Rivera’s murder might have been due to the robbery he had witnessed, the “intended target” has packed up his merchandise, along with personal belongings, and has left for another area out of Belize City.
We spoke to several of Rivera’s acquaintances, also vendors, who told us that Rivera was a peaceful person, who bothered no one.
They said his murder was nothing but savage and uncalled for.
“We as vendors are really sorry about what has happened, knowing that the person is not a troublemaker. He comes and sells vegetables every weekend. He did not deserve this death,” said a fruit and vegetable vendor.
The vendors collectively spoke to us about their fears, and did make reference to the robbery that had taken place earlier on Friday prior to the murder.
“We are appealing, on behalf of the vendors, to the Police Department that we need security at least on the weekends here”, the vendor said.
There is no doubt that Rivera’s murder has left the vendors in a state of alarm, but despite those fears, they said they must go to work daily, for this is the only means of survival known to them.
And as for Rivera’s family, they are not only left with grief, but with a financial constraint. Rivera’s only income was from the selling of his fruits and vegetables. They want to ship his body to Honduras, where his family members reside, but that is costly.
At the time of our interview, a collection was being taken at the market to help raise the necessary funds to have his body shipped to Honduras.
A post-mortem on Rivera’s body, which was scheduled for today, was postponed until tomorrow.
If anyone wishes to help with the expenses of shipping Rivera’s body to Honduras, the number to call is 635-3984. His son, Obidio, will answer the phone.