Photo: Laddie Gillett’s foster family outside of Courthouse following Guilty verdict for former Cpl. Kareem Martinez
BELIZE CITY, Fri. Apr. 21, 2023
As High Court Justice Antoinette Moore advanced her meticulous explanation about how the Prosecution had convinced her – without a reasonable doubt – that former police officer Kareem Martinez had been the shooter who killed Laddie Gillett, some relatives of the accused sitting in court grunted. When a GUILTY verdict was finally handed down, one broke out in tears. The former corporal of police – who pleaded not guilty on arraignment – assented when asked if he understood the verdict, and he was subsequently taken into police custody to await his sentence at a date to be decided by the parties.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the start of the trial, Laddie’s foster mother, Bryony Fleming-Bradley, expressed relief that the matter has come to an end and happiness that there has been justice for Laddie. His biological mother, Linda Gillett, who was present for the entirety of the case, likewise expressed happiness that justice has been served.
Justice Moore began reading her judgment before 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 21, in Belmopan and by a little after 11:00 a.m., she had thoroughly detailed how the Prosecution proved all four elements of manslaughter as per Section 116 of the Belize Criminal Code.
The trial by judge alone for the shooting death of the 14-year-old on the night of July 14, 2021 on a beach in Placencia took place in January, February and March of this year. The Prosecution, led by Senior Crown Counsel Javier Chan, presented 17 witnesses and the Judge ordered a visit to the scene.
Notably, Justice Moore indicated that she only accepted certain aspects of the testimonies of the other two police officers who were on the scene on the night in question because she did not find their narration of events entirely credible. On the other hand, she wholly accepted as truthful the testimony of 19-year-old Thomas Palacio, Laddie’s friend, who told the Court they were running from unidentified men in black who were chasing after them as they made their way home to beat the 10:00 p.m. curfew that was in place at the time. Police had responded to a report from a beach club security guard, Devon Castillo, who said he had seen three suspicious persons on the beach near the club. According to Justice Moore, Castillo did not clarify why they appeared suspicious, and she deemed it a gross overreaction on his part which ended tragically. Palacio said that when he heard a gunshot, he threw himself on the ground out of fear and then saw Laddie on the ground motionless. At that point, a gun was placed to his head and he was kicked and subsequently detained and taken to the police station. At the end of her statement, Justice Moore told the Court that police’s treatment of Palacio was potentially criminal, as he was threatened, physically assaulted and falsely imprisoned. On that point, attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley (who assisted the Prosecution) said that an attorney can extract the sworn testimony and sue on Palacio’s behalf. He also noted that the police have so far not taken any action as it relates to those accusations.
The Judge did not believe there was a scuffle or that either Laddie or Palacio had an object in their hand as some of the officers affirmed. Neither did she believe that they identified themselves as law enforcement officers upon arriving at the scene. Additionally, she is of the view they were untruthful regarding the time of the incident to make it seem as if it happened after curfew.
In a scathing rebuke of those tasked with serving and protecting, Justice Moore affirmed that many of the officers who testified in the trial should be able to clearly define basic tenets of policing such as what is a warning shot, when a person may be lawfully detained, and what is justifiable use of force. She highlighted the assertion of the investigating officer Sergeant Holly Vasquez that law enforcement officers cannot stop someone based on general suspicion alone as opposed to reasonable suspicion. In this case, said Justice Moore, there was no reasonable suspicion that the teens had committed or were about to commit a crime. To drive home the 4th element to prove manslaughter, that is, that the use of force was unlawful, Justice Moore pointed to protocols which prohibit police from shooting a fleeing suspect. Because there was no element of self-defense, there was no need for the force that was applied in this case by Martinez, who was the superior on the ground. In his statement to the Court, Martinez said he turned away from the fleeing teens and fired a warning shot. Justice Moore stated, “… I don’t believe he fired in the air at all. I believe he fired toward the accused with the tragic outcome of his death.” She highlighted that the responding police officers failed in their duty to uphold the rights of a child as enshrined in our Constitution and laws and as affirmed in international conventions to which Belize is a party.
Defense attorney Oscar Selgado has indicated his client’s intention to appeal. In response, attorney Bradley commented, “… Justice Moore is seldom disagreed with at the Court of Appeal.”