COROZAL TOWN, Fri. Aug. 28, 2020– A burglar who had entered the home of Hon. Pablo Marin, Minister of Health, was shot by Marin when the minister found him inside the house, and the wounded thief then ran out of the house and into the adjacent yard, where he died.
Marin told police that at about 10:30 last night, while he was at home, he heard noises coming from the lower flat. When he went to investigate, he was surprised to find an intruder in his house. He said that he fired 3 shots in quick succession with his licensed firearm, and the man fled, jumping over a fence to the next yard.
Police were called to the home, and the officers, upon arriving, found the body of a man lying face down in an open lot, near Marin’s fence, with gunshot wounds. The man was identified as Arkel Matura, 37, of San Antonio, Corozal District, who is well-known to police.
Matura was declared dead on arrival at the Corozal Community Hospital.
Police said that they found the lower flat of the house ransacked and an assortment of the Minister’s belongings had been packed and were ready to be taken away. The cops also said that they found signs of burglary in the lower flat, and three expended shells were recovered.
Minister Marin was not detained. As is customary, however, a file containing information about the incident will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for her perusal.
In a Facebook post, Ruth Tobin, Matura’s cousin, said: “Belizeans, this man is part of my family … he didn’t have no right stealing in no one house! So Belizeans, please stop feeling sorry for criminals and not for innocent families’ properties and lives first … if it was not him, it would be one of the families inside the houses got killed …. As a family of this guy, I don’t feel sorry….”