Photo: Kareem Martinez

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Wed. May 24, 2023

The man who caused an uproar throughout the entire nation of Belize and is responsible for the death of 14-year-old Laddie Gillett of Roaring Creek in southern Belize in July 2021, former police officer Kareem Martinez, after being found guilty in April of this year, will be serving an 18-year sentence behind bars at the Belize Central Prison, which was handed to him on Wednesday, May 23.

At the time of the incident, Gillett was on vacation in Placencia with his adoptive parents, and not too long after escorting a young lady friend to her residence along with another friend, 19-year-old Thomas Palacio, he was en route to the place where they were staying, at Chabil Mar Villas, to avoid being caught outside during curfew hours.

While on their way, they come across Martinez and another police officer who reportedly was dressed in black clothing, and the boys assumed that they were robbers, which caused them to speed off. This resulted in the guilty Martinez producing his service-issued pistol and firing a single shot at the boy, ending Gillett’s life.

Martinez and his fellow officer claimed that they were responding to a complaint by a resort on the peninsula that the establishment had been burglarized.

Days after the incident, Martinez was charged with manslaughter and was given bail of $8,000, which he met.

During the trial, the presiding judge, Justice Antoinette Moore revisited the scene where the incident occurred with both the members of the defense team and the prosecution, as well as some key witnesses and Gillett’s family and other persons in attendance in court.

Approximately 17 witnesses were cross-examined and cross-questioned to the satisfaction of the court, included among them being PC Claude Augustine, the other officer who was with Martinez during the incident. Augustine’s attorney, Oscar Selgado produced to the court a statement to the Professional Standards Branch where Augustine admitted that he was armed.

However, in his testimony, Augustine had claimed that he did not have his firearm, and in cross-examination, it was discovered that he wasn’t telling the truth. Thus, his statement was dismissed.

As early as 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 21, the verdict was handed down in the Supreme Court in Belmopan where Martinez was found guilty of manslaughter for killing Laddie Gillett.