Benyati Brandon Charged for Murder of Paul Smith Jr.

Police have made an arrest in the deadly shooting of twenty‑one‑year‑old Paul Smith Junior. This afternoon, officers charged twenty‑seven‑year‑old laborer Benyati Brandon with murder and attempted murder following Tuesday’s fatal shooting in La Democracia Village. Smith was gunned down in broad daylight around ten‑thirty a.m., in what relatives say was a targeted ambush. Known to police for previous arrests and acquitted in a high‑profile murder case back in 2022, Smith had been out of prison less than six months. Now, his family is grieving, saying the killing may be tied to deep‑seated tensions between relatives. His cousin, Tamara Gillett, spoke with us about how that conflict affected his life before his death.

 

Voice of: Tamara Gillett, Cousin of Deceased

“Da ney mek this lee bwai turn out soh. Da ney. He mi loving. Ney mek this lee bwai turn out like this. Ney mek this lee bwai be a target fi ney. Ney shot up atta her. When he go out there, ney mess with he. Ney fight with he. All kinda thing. They know weh ney di do. Ney know what ney di do. Miss ney got we inna pain right now and I hope ney feel how we di feel right now and if ney noh want feel how we di feel, I no got nothing fi she.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Where exactly was he shot and how many gunshot injuries did he receive?”

 

Voice of: Angel Estrada, Cousin of Deceased

“He was shot in his chest and stomach, and in his hands.” 

 

Voice of: Tamara Gillett

“It happen pan the second lane. They lay wait him. The second lane inna bush. Caz we find him inna di bush.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Yiu said he was dropping off his girlfriend? What was he doing in that area?”

 

Voice of: Tamara Gillett

“His girlfriend di work. His girlfriend mi do go. Memba ney mi just gone through a lee altercation and so he mi di run behind his girlfriend. Da how he end up out deh.”

 

Benyati Brandon was escorted from Hattieville to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he was arraigned on two indictable offences, murder and attempted murder. He is accused of fatally shooting Paul Smith Jr. and wounding twenty-four‑year‑old Tyrece Lewis Allen during a mid‑morning incident on Tuesday, February third, in La Democracia Village. Police say surveillance footage from the area led to Brandon’s arrest. Appearing before Chief Magistrate Deborah Rogers, Brandon was represented by attorney Orson “OJ” Elrington. Due to the seriousness of the charges, bail was denied, and he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until May eighteenth, 2026, when he is due back in court.