Bus driver charged with murder
Augustine Gonzalez, 44, a Belizean bus driver of Santa Familia Village, was arrested and charged with the crime of murder for killing Ima Azucena Landero at Legends 2000 nightclub.
By Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 27, 2022
Augustine Gonzalez, 44, a Belizean bus driver of Santa Familia Village, has been arrested and charged with the crime of murder for killing Ima Azucena Landero at Legends nightclub, on Bullet Tree Road in San Ignacio, Cayo, on Saturday, June 25.
According to initial police reports, at around 12:55 a.m. a female approached David Gordon, the security guard on duty at the nightclub, and told him that there was blood seeping out of the women’s restroom. When Gordon went to the restroom to investigate the matter, he saw Gonzalez stabbing a now-deceased Landero with a knife.
When Gordon ordered Gonzalez to stop, Gonzalez proceeded to inflict injuries to himself in his abdomen area and also attempted to harm Gordon but failed to do so. Gordon was then able to subdue Gonzalez and handcuffed him until the police arrived at the scene, after which he was transported to the San Ignacio Community Hospital for treatment and then to the San Ignacio Police Station, where he was detained.
Landero’s body was also transported to the San Ignacio Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
On Sunday, June 26, Gonzalez was formally arrested and charged with the crime of murder.
Police are yet to determine whether Gonzalez was under the influence of alcohol or some other substance at the time of the incident, and whether there had been some type of domestic dispute between Gonzalez and Landero that might have led to the murder.
However, the niece of the deceased, Luistia Aguirres, has confirmed that her aunt was in a relationship with Gonzalez for about 8 years and that they shared two kids together. She further noted that Gonzalez hadn’t shown any signs of jealousy or violent behavior until later on in the relationship.
“When he first came into the family, we never thought that he would be that kind of person. Like, after [a few] years he showed his real personality. He used to beat her several times, and I spoke to her and I just told her to leave that man,” she said.
Aguirres mentioned that Ima Landero had recently started to work at the nightclub in order to assist Gonzalez in paying the bills, since he had been unemployed.
“They both agreed that she will work because he needed help in everything. Things for his cycle, she will bring the money; things to finish her house, she will bring the money, because he wasn’t working, so she was doing everything. Even for the kids, she was working,” said Aguirres.
Ramon Galvez, the owner of the Legend 2000, described to local reporters what was captured on the surveillance camera on the night of the stabbing.
“What we saw on the camera is that the guy put his shirt over his head and just his face was showing, and he had a knife on the side, and he walked right past 4 or 5 persons that [were] standing in front of the bathroom and he walked right inside that bathroom just to kill that young lady. And the way we saw in that bathroom, the young lady was using the bathroom because all the blood was on the toilet and the toilet seat, and it sprayed. That guy came to kill [her] because he didn’t cut her on her face; that was a serious stab. And that lady [bled] fast. It’s like moments. By the time the police came, they said she had a little pulse but that was her last breath,” Galvez highlighted.
“… To me, if somebody comes to harm somebody just to harm, they would’ve maybe cut the girl on her face, beat her up in the bathroom, and walked out. He refused to come out of the bathroom. If he had a different mindset, he would’ve said ‘I’m done doing damage to her, you all take care of the rest, I’ll walk out of here. Arrest me or do what you want to me’ No, he locked himself up in that bathroom and watched that bleed by that toilet,” he added.
According to Galvez, his establishment is currently being renovated to prevent any other such incidents from occurring. Galvez said that the ladies’ restroom will be relocated to the front for more protection and the male restroom will be secured so that no one can go in to do harm.
Galvez also noted that he and his security personnel had not been prepared for an attack of this sort that was carried out in such an unexpected manner.
“We were not equipped for someone to come lock themselves into a bathroom. We are more equipped for somebody coming and [trying] to stab somebody in front of anyone. But something like that, there’s no way we could’ve prevented that,” he said.