BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 4, 2019– On December 24, 2016, Gilbert Meyers was riding his bicycle along the George Price Highway between Mile 2 and 3, heading to his Hattieville home, when he was knocked down and killed by a vehicle that was being driven by Alfonso Noble, the editor of the United Democratic Party (UDP) newspaper, The Guardian. Noble is also a talk show host on the UDP’s Wave Radio and Television.

At his arraignment, Noble was read charges of manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention and failing to provide specimen to police for testing.

At the time he was detained, Noble had told police that he was a Jehovah’s Witness and so could not provide the specimen for testing. As a consequence of not providing the specimen, he was detained over the holiday until he was taken to court.

In May 2018, Noble reportedly reached a settlement with Meyers’ family and paid them over one hundred thousand dollars, and following the settlement, the family dropped a civil lawsuit that they had against Noble.

Also in May of last year, after a preliminary inquiry by Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford, Noble was committed to stand trial in the October Session of the Supreme Court. This morning, Noble and his attorney, Herbert Panton, appeared before Justice Colin Williams.

Noble pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by careless conduct and Justice Williams fined him $3,000. He was ordered to pay the fine by July 2020. In addition, Noble was suspended from driving for a period of three months.

In court, Noble expressed his remorse for causing Meyers’s death and he sincerely apologized to Meyers’ family. Following the hearing, Noble told reporters that he was truly sorry for the accident.

Noble also highlighted the conditions of the road on the night of the accident, saying that it was raining and the road was dark, and that Meyers was dressed in black clothing.

When he was asked about the settlement payment to the family, Noble declined to comment on that, saying that no amount of money is enough for the loss of life, and that is something that he would have to live with for the rest of his life.