BELIZE CITY, Tues. Nov. 6, 2018– A third person has been arraigned for the murder of Constable Osborne Martinez, 27. He is Tyrique Myles, 18, a resident of Tibruce Street who was shot in his right thigh by police while he was allegedly involved in a shootout with them.

Myles was arraigned on the charge when he appeared today before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford. He was also charged with 3 counts of robbery, one count of keeping a firearm without a gun license and one count of keeping ammunition without a gun license. He was remanded into custody until January 8, 2018.

Myles maintained a jovial demeanor while he was in court, and the only time he appeared serious was when he told Senior Magistrate Ford that several police officers have threatened to kill him.

The shootout occurred on the morning of Friday, November 2, when police responded to a report of a robbery in progress at Belcove Hotel on Regent Street West.  Police allege that Myles and two other young men, Rayford Mejia, 19, and Glen Lopez, 21, went to the hotel and robbed three persons at gunpoint.

They then attempted to get away in a boat that was waiting for them behind the hotel but they were prevented from doing so by the police, who were in another boat, and who became involved in a shootout with them.

Constable Martinez was shot when he and other officers on his team, after arriving on Regent Street West following a report they received of the robbery, were attempting to put a stop to the robbery.

Lopez and Mejia were charged with murder and robbery when they were brought before Senior Magistrate Ford yesterday. Lopez alone was charged with keeping firearms and ammunition without a gun license.