Photo: David Arnold, acquitted
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Tues. June 13, 2023
David Arnold, the man accused of murdering Andrew Bennett, 42, a well-known DJ known by many as “DJ Hard Rock” in 2017, walked out of court on Monday, June 12, after the main witness in the case against him was a no-show.
In 2017, Bennett was at a bus shed near his home on Central American Boulevard at about 8:00 p.m. when he was approached by a gunman who fired multiple shots at him, which wounded him in his head and body. The shooter then fled—leaving a dying Bennett at the scene.
A year after Bennett was killed, police were able to make progress in the case with the arrest of Arnold, who was charged with murder and sent to the Belize Central Prison on remand.
After Arnold had spent almost 6 years behind bars, his trial before a judge without a jury was scheduled to start on Monday, following a number of trips by Arnold to the courts over the past six months. Unfortunately, however, the Crown’s main witness was a no-show.
Thus, the case ended in a “nolle pros”, and Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft allowed Arnold to walk free.