Photo: (l-r) Delson and Tionne Paguada, convicted
by Roy Davis (freelance reporter)
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Dec. 20, 2023
Two brothers, Delson Paguada, 24, and Tione Paguada, 20, who were convicted of the murder of Jimell Paul Jex, 32, were both sentenced to life imprisonment today by Justice Nigel Pilgrim.
Justice Pilgrim, when delivering the sentences, said that remorse was not a factor, because there was no expression of remorse by the two men. He further said that the sentencing had to be individualized, and he specified an initial sentence of 30 years for Delson, to which he added 2 years. He then subtracted 5 years from 32 years, which resulted in a 27-year sentence. He further subtracted 3 years and 7 months, the time Delson spent on remand, and arrived at a prison term of 23 years and 5 months, which is the time Delson has to serve before he is eligible for parole.
In Tione’s case, Justice Pilgrim again started with a sentence of 30 years, to which he added 1 year. He then subtracted 7 years from 31 years, and further subtracted 2 years and 3 months, the time Tione spent on remand, which resulted in a prison term of 21 years and 9 months, which is the time Tione has to serve before he is eligible for parole.
However, because Tione was only 15 years old when the murder was committed, he is being detained at the “court’s pleasure”, and after every 3-year period he will be checked upon and a report will be submitted to the Chief Justice.
Justice Pilgrim advised the brothers to take advantage of the programs that are available at the Belize Central Prison and to rehabilitate themselves.
The incident occurred at about 5:00 p.m. on January 23, 2018, in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. Jex, a father of 5, was riding his bicycle along with a friend who was walking beside him, when he was pulled off his bicycle and shot 5 times. There were two eyewitnesses to the shooting, and one of them positively identified the brothers as the perpetrators. A third person, Timothy Carcamo, was charged with Jex’s murder, but he was acquitted.