David “Ducey” Cruz was found guilty of the 2019 murder of Timroy Neal in front of Lucky Store in Roaring Creek
by Charles Gladden
BELMOPAN CITY, Wed. July 6, 2022
David “Duecy” Cruz appeared in the Belmopan Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 5, and was found guilty of murder for fatally shooting Timroy Neal, 28, in front of Lucky Store in Roaring Creek in December 2019 — an incident which reportedly took place across the street from the village’s police sub-station and was captured by a surveillance camera in the area.
In 2019, Neal was standing in front of the well-known establishment when Cruz approached him and fired several shots in his direction, which injured him. While Neal was trying to escape from Cruz, he fell by the steps of the store, and that was when Cruz stood over Neal and fired several more shots. When the gun stopped firing, Neal was dead — with reportedly seven gunshot wounds in the head.
Neal was transported to the Western Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Almost three years later, Cruz was found guilty of murder before Justice Francis Cumberbatch and is expected to return to court for his sentence hearing, which is set for July 28.
At the time of his death, Neal was the father of two children and had twins on the way.
It has been reported that Cruz is a notorious figure in the community of Roaring Creek, where his criminal record goes as far back as 2006, when he was charged with murdering a 16-year-old boy. However, he was able to beat the charges. After that incident, he was accused of being involved in the commission of several other crimes, including murders, within the Roaring Creek area, but was never convicted for any such offense.
In reference to the conviction of Cruz, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told local media, “… I can tell you, this one with Cruz who got convicted today in the Belmopan Supreme Court is of significant importance to us, because you’d know that this fellow who is now convicted is known to be one of the Roaring Creek bad man who has been out there for a number of years and having been creating problems for the police, problems for the community, and so I’m sure that the Roaring Creek residents are going to be happy to know that he has been convicted and sent away to prison for a lengthy period of time. So, I am grateful for that conviction where he is concerned.”,
