by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 26, 2024
On Monday night, August 25, a Belize City man was executed in his yard near Pound Yard Bridge at the corner of Wood Street and Cemetery Road by a lone gunman who had apparently lay waited him inside Constitution Park adjacent to his home.
It had initially been reported that the deceased, 23-year-old Dimetrie Usher, was with a group of men when he was shot. However, later reports to Amandala indicated that Usher had returned from purchasing a few items from a nearby store, and not too long after he entered his yard he was met with approximately seven shots, three of which fatally wounded him. He died shortly after being transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
“Di way di media put out last night, dat ih mi di heng out da Pouhn Yaad with a group of guys. He mi di eat and live up yah, and ih gaan downstairs fu buy something da di shop, and di gunman dawg ahn out and kill ahn,” persons close to Usher said.
“Dey fyah shot atta dem bwai because police find shells way pan da next side, so da mi anyone ah dehn ih mi wahn ketch. Unfortunately, he mi di walk and closa to di gunman, so da hinh tek di lick,” they added.
They also added that when the gunman completed his task, he fled out of the park, made eye contact with a relative of the deceased, and proceeded to fire another seven shots—then made clean his escape by hopping on a motorcycle with a driver who waited for him.
Persons close to the deceased told Amandala that he was not affiliated with any criminal groups in the area.
“He has never been charged for anything, and you can check his record. [Dimetrie] grew up on Banak Street – he neva had a choice – da mi his neighborhood. He tried to distance ih self, but dem bwai round yah always mess with ahn fu no reason,” they said.
ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, told the media during Monday’s press briefing that one suspect has been detained in connection with the murder, but no charges have been laid as yet.
Usher was an avid sportsperson who loved football, and before his untimely death was a part of the Ebony Lake FC which participated in the William Dawson Peace Cup.
Usher was expecting to become the father of his first child in October of this year.