by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 26, 2023

The blood of Luis Miguel Beaton, 23, a resident of Jane Usher Boulevard and an employee of Chon Saan Palace, was splattered on the ground in an alley-way between Flamboyant and Oleander Streets in the Lake Independence community over the weekend.

Reports indicate that at around 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, Beaton was heading home, after visiting the mother of his child who resides in the area, when he was approached by a lone male equipped with a firearm who fired approximately 6 gunshots at him, killing him instantly.

According to ACP Hilberto Romero, OC of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, reports suggest that Beaton was the intended target of the person who fired the shots at him.

Beaton was employed at Chon Saan Palace as a deliveryman for three days and left a good impression on Lee Mark Chang, the restaurant’s owner. Mr. Chang said on a social media post that Beaton “was very happy learning and working at the same time.”

“Don’t let his size fool you,” Chang said. “He was diligent and did more than was asked of him.”

Amandala visited the scene where the incident occurred but neighbors and family members declined to comment.

Beaton’s name was in the local media back in 2018. He was allegedly involved in a slew of robberies that had been occurring in the old capital at the time, and some robbery related charges were pressed against him. Currently, police investigating this murder have not yet determined a motive.