LADYVILLE, Belize District, Mon. Feb. 16, 2015–Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the motive behind the appalling execution of Denver Owen Jones, 29, of Hattieville, an ex-BDF soldier who was found shot to death on a dirt road in a remote area of Ladyville two days ago, the police press office reported today.
Authorities said that around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 14, they visited a road which connects Marage Road with Lake Gardens in the Ladyville area, where they found Jones on the ground with a single gunshot wound in his left cheek.
According to Superintendent Hilberto Romero, the head of the Crimes Investigation Branch (CIB) in the Belize District, Jones went to the area in his car with the intention of dropping off some money for an unknown individual at the time that he met his death.
Romero told us that although there were three other occupants in the vehicle, their investigations have revealed that after parking the car at the roadside, the victim got out of the car and walked into a poorly lit area, about 100 feet away from the road, to meet a person who then shot him.
“That is an isolated area, and we are looking at all angles to see if he was lured there, because that is an area that he frequents. [We know that] he went there by himself and thereafter, his body was found in that area”, Romero replied in response to reports that Jones received a phone call prior to being killed.
The three persons who were in the car along with Jones have since been detained pending investigation, and Romero mentioned that those individuals are presently being interviewed, after which statements will be taken from them.
There were also reports that Jones had reported to police that his life was threatened prior to the incident; however, Romero told us that they are not aware of the complaint, but will check to see if any such report was actually made.
Of note is that Jones had been charged for a recent shooting which took place in Ladyville and when asked whether the murder may have been retaliatory, Romero replied, “It is a possibility and it is an angle that we are looking at. We will review our files to see who those persons [involved in that shooting] were.”
We understand that Jones, a father of two, had a girlfriend in Ladyville and that is the reason he normally spends time in that vicinity.
One of his relatives told us that his family is quite distraught by the incident, especially since they are at a loss as to why Jones was slain in that manner.