SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Belize District, Thurs. Dec. 20, 2018– In the Tuesday edition of the Amandala, we reported that a gunman or gunmen had fired shots at the home of the Turley family in San Pedro at about 1:30 last Saturday morning while the family was sleeping.
About 10 shots were fired at the house and the bullets had damaged a wall of the house and shattered some windows. Luckily, no one was hit. Police who inspected the shooting scene said that 7 expended 9mm shells were found in the area.
On September 9, a motorcycle belonging to a Turley family member, 21-year-old Trent Turley, was set on fire and completely destroyed. Police who investigated the arson did not report any arrests. Police said they don’t know whether the incidents are connected. Police also said that the Turley family had requested that they (the police) don’t divulge any information they may have gathered about the incidents.
However, police did indicate that a failed business transaction might be at the bottom of the incidents. We learned that the Turleys are American nationals, and the family patriarch who is a businessman in the United States, went into a joint business venture with another party in the US and the business failed.
According to information we received, this other party is demanding US$550,000 which he thinks is owed to him, and has demanded that the Turley family pay the money in United States currency.
The case has attracted international attention, with the United States Embassy in Belize bringing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist in the investigation. At this time there is limited information available. What is known is that the motorbike of a Turley son was destroyed by fire in September; last week shots were fired at the Turley home, and the Turleys, fearful for their lives and property, are urging the police to step up efforts to get to the bottom of the situation and to protect them.
Trent Turley said that when he is out of his house, he is constantly looking over his shoulders, and that he tries not to go about alone.