BELIZE CITY, Fri. June 18, 2021– Last week, we reported on the death of Jillian Garcia, which occurred on Sunday night in Trial Farm after he had been involved in a quarrel at a bar in the village. Reports are that he was on his way home after leaving the bar to avoid an escalation of the conflict, when he was run over by the persons with whom he had argued.

The driver of the vehicle, Luigi Chable, has since been arrested and charged with the crime of manslaughter by negligence for the death of Garcia. The charge was levied after an investigation by police and the issuance of a recommendation by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Cheryl-Lynn Vidal.

As was recently seen when it was determined that a manslaughter charge would be brought against Jasmine Hartin for the death of Supt. Henry Jemmott, a review of such cases is done by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), who considers a number of factors before indicating whether a charge of murder or manslaughter should be brought. Garcia’s family, however, believe that the traffic collision which caused his death was likely not accidental — and that the driver of the car intended to hit him.

Initially, police had indicated that the preliminary information which they had gathered, suggested that the fatal collision might have been an intentional act, since the victim and the accused were in an argument just moments before he was run over by him. ASP Fritzroy Yearwood, the Police Department’s spokesperson, had implied this when he updated the media at a press briefing.

However, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, later remarked that they act on what is given to them in writing, and based on the statements from witnesses, and in his personal opinion, the element of intention was not present.

“It goes back to where the DPP does not act on what the police say. Neither does the police. We act on what is given to us in writing. And, from what we obtained, statements from witnesses, it does not appear that way. I am not the DPP or the DPP representative who arrived at the charge of manslaughter by negligence. But I am going to respect the decision made by the DPP representative who directed the police to charge for that offense. I have some insight of the situation, and from what I have been briefed, there is nothing to show that it was intentional, but rather someone who appeared to have been under the influence, jumped into a vehicle, lost control, ran into a lamppost and knocked down the other person. I do not see how that could be intent to kill,” said Commissioner Williams.

Luigi Chable was also charged with driving without a license and third-party insurance, and with driving without due care and attention.

As previously reported, the vehicle which hit Garcia was torched at the scene of the incident in the village.