Photo: Jeffrey Contreras left and Eric Miranda right

by Roy Davis (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 12, 2023

It was a case of alleged amnesia in the court of Justice Ricardo Sandcroft on Friday, June 9, when Jayden Herrera, aka “Belly”, the main witness for the Crown, took the witness stand to testify against Eric Miranda and Jeffrey Contreras, who are charged with the murder of Sean Menzies, 57, a sales manager for Bowen and Bowen Ltd..

Herrera, who is on remand at the Belize Central Prison for a charge of murder, said that he could not remember what occurred about 11:16 p.m. on November 18, 2020, when Menzies was fatally shot. He added that he did not have any knowledge of the matter and that he did not want to have anything to do with it.

When asked by Crown Counsel Reese Cattouse if he recalled giving a statement to the police, Herrera replied that he could not remember doing so. As a result, the statements, three of them that he allegedly gave to the police, were presented as testimony by the police officers who took the statements, and Herrera was deemed a hostile witness.

The Crown then closed its case.

Attorney Arthur Saldivar, who represented Miranda, and attorney Darrell Bradley, who represented Contreras, did not call any witnesses in the defense of their clients, and Miranda and Contreras chose to remain silent.

Justice Sandcroft has set July 25 as the date on which he will render his verdict.

Menzies was shot in his head and back while he was outside in the yard of his house on Lancaster Street. He was leaning against the fence when his assailant rode by on a bicycle and opened fire. According to a report, it may have been a case of mistaken identity.