It was a tragic weekend across Belize after a series of road traffic accidents claimed the lives of eight individuals. In the north, two families lost a parent and a child in a collision, and several were critically injured, while in southern Belize a five-year-old and two family members were killed while driving back from celebrating the child’s birthday in Punta Gorda. These unfortunate events have raised concerns with the public about the safety of the roads and highlighted issues regarding their upkeep that need to be addressed. We asked Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer, what the department is doing to address these concerns considering the recent accidents. Here’s what he had to say.
Britney Gordon
“We had a very tragic weekend with several accidents across Belize. Can you speak a little bit about, how the department is responding to that?”
Leon Gentle
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
“Well, the department has started, we have increased the number of patrols, both for the areas that are hot spots. as well as for doing normal checks along the highways. It is also important that we highlight the collaborative effort that we should have between the police and the Department of Transport, especially during the after hours, because majority of these accidents normally happen when the sun goes down, for lack of a better term. But the idea is that we want to collaboratively work along with the police department to have at least some sort of security with us when we do those patrols within the, within the nighttime.”
Britney Gordon
“So there has been some criticism, especially, in the southern region about, poor lighting on the highways and a lack of markings on the highway. So how is the department addressing these issues?”
Leon Gentle
“In my opinion, it’s important for us as well, collaborate with the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing because they’re primarily the persons responsible for And that is also about improving the roads and infrastructure within the country, and so it’s is a wider discussion not only from the Department of Transport, but also with the ministry of infrastructure, development and housing, and primarily because of that there has to be that conversation that we have before we can produce a timeline as to how to improve that. But we do agree that there is need for markings on the road. As well as for increasing in lighting or reflectors within the road. So it is a conversation that we intend to have with the Ministry of infrastructure, development and housing.”
Recent traffic accidents across Belize over the weekend have prompted the Department of Transport to once again advise the public to exercise caution while travelling on the highway. According to Chief Transport Officer, Leon Gentle, the Department of Transport is working towards increasing security on the roads, however, there are several practices that can be taken by the public to limit the number of accidents recorded. We spoke with Gentle earlier today to hear how drivers can avoid a collision on the roads. Here’s what he had to say.
Britney Gordon
“And how do we encourage drivers to take more precautions on the road? What are some of the practices you discouraged them from doing?”
Leon Gentle, Chief Transport Officer
“Well, on the roads, especially for road users, it’s important to understand the laws as it relates to moving, overtaking a person in front of you. I want to also try to discourage persons who are on these motorcycles for overtaking on the wrong side of vehicles. That seems to be a practice that these motorcycles have been using for some time, especially within the city limits and on town limits. It’s also important for us to stay within the speed limit. And to ensure that you indicate when you’re intending to overtake the vehicle in front of you and to ensure that all your lightings on your vehicles are working properly. Take precautions of the road conditions. Ensure that you are familiar with the roadways and just be safe while you’re driving. Ensure to buckle up as well.”
In connection with the murder of Cruz Magana on Monday, June 3, 2024, in the Fresh Pond Community, Belize District, police have formally arrested and charged Robert Arnold. Arnold, a 21-year-old unemployed Belizean from Belize City, was charged with the crimes of murder and robbery on Wednesday, July 17.
Magaña, a 33-year-old businessman, was fatally shot during a home invasion at his residence around 8:00 p.m.
According to police reports, two masked men entered the home, holding family members at gunpoint and demanding money. One family member managed to escape and sought help from neighbors.
Shortly after, gunshots were heard. Magaña was found bleeding and was rushed to the K.H.M.H., where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), has started a project to upgrade a 3.9-mile farm feeder road in Trio Village, Toledo District. This project is part of the Resilient Rural Belize (RRB) Programme, a six-year initiative to help small farmers deal with climate and economic challenges and improve their market access. The programme is funded by BZ$50 million from international organisations like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and local beneficiaries.
The contract for the road upgrade, worth approximately BZ$1.86 million, was signed with A&N Construction. The new road will provide year-round access for farmers, helping them transport their produce more easily and reliably.
Trio Village is home to the Cooperativa Los Buenos Amigos Co-operative, a group of small farmers who grow pineapples on about 31 acres. Currently, poor road conditions make it difficult for them to move their produce, especially during the rainy season. The new road will make transportation easier and more efficient for the co-operative and other local farmers growing cacao, coconut, and citrus.
The improved road is expected to benefit about 188 households and 899 people in Trio Village, as well as other farmers in the surrounding areas.
Employers are reminded of their legal obligations under Section 29 of the Representation of the People Act, which mandates that they must allow employees a prescribed period for voting on Election Day, Wednesday, 17th July 2024. The voting hours are between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
According to Section 29 (1) and (2) of the Act:
– Employers must permit every voter in their employ a reasonable time to vote without any deduction from pay or other penalties.
– Any employer who refuses to grant this time, or interferes with the voting process through intimidation or undue influence, may face a fine of up to two thousand dollars or imprisonment for up to one year.
Employers and the general public are urged to comply with these provisions to ensure a fair and smooth voting process.
The infamous triple murder of the Skeen and Vellos family in 2012, concluded in court today after twelve years. In November of that year, Robert Vellos Senior, his wife Karen Skeen, and her daughter, Teena Skeen, were callously murdered inside their Ladyville home, having all been shot in the head and, in the case of Karen Skeen, her throat was cut. The suspect in the grisly homicide was Karen Skeen’s son, Jared Ranguy. The trial was a long-drawn-out affair, having taken over twelve years to arrive at a conclusion. Today, the Vellos and Skeen families breathed a sigh of relief after Ranguy was handed three life sentences. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the full report.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
It’s been twelve long years since a family said goodbye to a mother, a father and a daughter after they were brutally murdered inside their home in the early hours of November twenty-fifth, 2012. Robert Vellos Senior, his wife Karen Skeen, and her daughter Teena Skeen, are the victims of this heinous crime and since that day, their surviving family members have fought for justice to be handed down to the suspected murderer. That man is Jared Ranguy, the son of Karen Skeen, who was today sentenced to three life sentences in prison for the execution of his stepfather, sister, and mother. Krystal Holder, niece of the late Karen Skeen, expressed the family’s relief after the final trial today.
Krystal Holder
Krystal Holder, Neice of Deceased
“I would say that we’re feeling emotional relieved and grateful that this long journey is finally over And that justice has to be served. The loss of our loved ones, it was immense. It was profound because we’re such a poor state. And, so it was shocking, and it was truly a tragedy. And we have been coming here to these court sessions for twelve years. Some of the family behind me have been, they’ve been at every court session. So we are relieved. However, the sentence, it does not take away the. The deep pain that we feel and that we will continue to feel probably for the rest of our lives because the absence of Aunt Karen, Teena, and mister Robert, it’s felt every single day and they are dearly missed, but we are grateful for this closure.”
In 2012, the news of this murder sent shockwaves across the nation and the grim details of the act further rattled the public. Thirty-two-year-old Teena Skeen, and her stepfather, Robert Vellos Senior, had been shot in the head. However, her mother, Karen Skeen, a cancer survivor, had been shot in the head, as well as slashed in the throat. Since that day, the Skeen and Vellos family have awaited the day when the killer would be placed behind bars. Much to their disappointment and frustration, the matter was drawn out in court for over ten years.
Rene Skeen
File: July 19th, 2023, Rene Skeen, Sibling of Deceased
“Justice for, like I said, my sister Karen, my niece Teena and my brother-in-law Robert. Justice for them, that’s the most important thing at this point. However, what I want to see, or what we want to see, we want to see him found guilty and spend the rest of his life in jail, that’s what we want to see. At this point, the way the family feels is that “justice delayed, justice denied”. It’s not about just us, the family, the surviving family but the three victims. It becomes a point where we feel like Jared, who allegedly committed these murders, is manipulating the system and it’s working on his behalf.”
Over the past twelve years, Ranguy has changed lawyers over seven times. At the conclusion of the trial, he was represented by Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, who says that he is dissatisfied with today’s outcome. Ranguy will be serving three life sentences in prison concurrently and will not be eligible for parole until he’s served thirty-seven years. The twelve years spent behind bars will be deducted from this sentence, so he is likely to spend twenty-five years behind bars minimum. Smith, says that the decision was due, in part, to the fact that Ranguy was not able to undergo an extensive psychiatric evaluation.
Godfrey Smith
Godfrey Smith, Attorney of Ranguy
“We would have preferred a fixed sentence, which means it’s fixed. And once you’ve done a certain amount of time, then you would be free. The main, or one of the main things we were relying on was the forensic psychiatric report of the United Kingdom Forensic Psychiatrist and a sleep specialist. Unfortunately, those reports could not be conclusive without having hooked up mister Ranguy to sleep machines, sleep study machines in the prison. The cost was too prohibitive. We couldn’t go that far and as a result, the experts could only go so far as to say non-REM parasomnia, in common parlance sleepwalking, could not be ruled out.”
Ranguy pleaded guilty to the charges and expressed remorse within his affidavit, however, he failed to apologize to the family during the trial. Holder says that while the pain of losing her family members will never fully dissipate, the gesture of an apology may have added to the feelings of closure the family is seeking.
Krystal Holder
“I think it would have been better if he had spoken to us and apologized. I think that would have meant much more. We are grateful that he pled guilty and that today is the last day that we have to be here and this is over. I think that now, individually, all of us have our own journeys that we want to get to forgiveness. We want to be at peace, and we hope that today, our family members are able to finally sleep in peace.”
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is investigating a violent incident reported at the Southern Regional Hospital on the night of July fourteenth, 2024. The investigation was launched after the incident was reported by this news station on Monday night. As we reported, two traffic accident victims were brought to the hospital, where nurses promptly secured them and locked the doors to prevent overcrowding. Despite these precautions, a group attempted to force their way inside, prompting a police call after midnight. The injured persons were subsequently transferred to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital without a security escort, and staff received threats from those trying to enter the emergency room. The ministry’s investigation revealed that the staff at the Accident and Emergency Unit faced violent behavior from individuals claiming to be friends or relatives of the accident victims who arrived around 10:54 p.m. Approximately thirty minutes after the victims’ arrival, these individuals forced their way into the triage area and tried to enter the Emergency Department. In response, the A&E doors were closed to allow staff to provide uninterrupted care. A female voice was heard threatening to break down the door if access was not granted, accompanied by loud banging. Hospital security attempted to defuse the situation but were unsuccessful, necessitating police intervention. In its release, the minister condemned the aggressive and threatening behavior, emphasizing that such actions hinder medical staff from performing their duties effectively. The Ministry stressed that medical emergencies require staff to have adequate space and privacy to provide life-saving care and that any obstruction or threat to medical personnel is unacceptable.
Attorney Orson “O.J.” Elrington has been fined by the General Legal Council to the tune of fifteen thousand dollars after findings of grave professional misconduct. The G.L.C. determined that he breached three rules of the Legal Profession (Code of Conduct) Rules. The decision follows a complaint against Elrington that was filed by a former client. In May, 2022, Pastor Dozie retained Elrington to institute a constitutional claim against the Social Security Board to challenge certain provisions of the Social Security Act which deals with the recovery of widower’s pension under its provisions, which were alleged to be discriminatory. After the filing of the claim, settlement discussions between Elrington and S.S.B. resulted in the filing of a Consent Order in September 2023. Pastor Dozie later complained that Elrington entered into the consent order without his approval and that Elrington was,(quote), derelict in his duty in not securing the approval of Pastor Dozie as to the terms of the consent order, (end quote). The G.L.C., in its decision, also ordered that Elrington pays Pastor Dozie a sum of forty-six thousand, five hundred and eighty-eight dollars by July nineteenth. Earlier today, we spoke with attorney Elrington.
Orson “OJ’ Elrington
Orson “O.J” Elrington, Attorney-at-law
“The GLC, I respect their decision and the decision has already been adhered to. It’s already been paid.”
Isani Cayetano
“What do you take away from this entire ordeal, in the sense that you had a client, the business relationship between yourself, as a council, and your client, at some point, went sideways, for want of a better description, and you were brought before this particular body?”
Orson Elrington
“Well, of course the historical context of that is very important because, again, this is one of the many matters which I have taken on essentially pro bono on behalf of people. This was one of them and so oddly enough, it is in trying to assist others that we are in this position right now. Mr. Dozie contacted us, he had applied for a benefit from social security which was refused. He got zero dollars. On that challenge, I advised that he could bring a constitutional claim to challenge the legislation itself, the constitutionality of the legislation. Of course, you would know [that] it is rare in Belize’s history that you challenge the legislation itself and we were successful in convincing the officials and the government that it made no sense to proceed to further litigation because we were already in litigation and the point was that it was unconstitutional and we came to a settlement. But what is of importance here is that Mr. Dozie went from zero dollars to almost fifty thousand dollars.”
Isani Cayetano
“So while you were successful at arriving at a landmark decision it is marred by the fact that you have been brought before the General Legal Council for misconduct. That’s bittersweet for anybody who would say, “Look, I have litigated for something that is groundbreaking on one hand, but on the other hand, I am being dragged before a body to review my conduct.”
Orson Elrington
“And I would double it, to say that it was a pro bono matter. It was essentially a pro bono matter which was based on contingency. We have accepted the fine, it’s a significant fine, but the damage to my legal reputation is far more reaching than that and so it makes us have to question every single matter that we take on pro bono, every matter that we take on on contingency and therefore have to be even more stringent.”
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is investigating reports of a violent incident at the Southern Regional Hospital on the night of July 14, 2024. As News 5 reported, two traffic accident victims were brought to the Southern Regional Hospital, where nurses quickly secured them inside and locked the door to prevent crowding. Despite this, people attempted to force entry, leading to a police call after midnight. The injured were transferred to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital without a security escort. Staff received threats from those trying to enter the emergency room.
According to the MOHW’s findings, the staff at the Accident and Emergency Unit of Southern Regional Hospital faced violent behaviour from individuals claiming to be friends or relatives of road traffic accident victims who were brought in for medical attention around 10:54 p.m.
Approximately thirty minutes after the victims’ arrival, their friends or relatives forced their way into the triage area and attempted to enter the Emergency Department. In response, the A&E doors were closed to allow staff to provide the necessary care without interruptions.
A female voice was then heard threatening to break down the door if access was not granted, accompanied by loud banging. Security personnel at the hospital attempted to defuse the situation but were unsuccessful, leading to police intervention.
In its release, the minister condemned this aggressive and threatening behaviour, emphasising that such actions hinder medical staff from performing their duties effectively. The Ministry stressed that medical emergencies require staff to have adequate space and privacy to provide life-saving care and that any obstruction or threat to medical personnel is unacceptable.
The public is reminded that it is an offence under the Criminal Code, CAP 101 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2020, to threaten or obstruct a public officer in the execution of their duties.
On Monday, Belize commemorated the 29th anniversary of its diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba. In a declaration, Cabinet expressed profound appreciation for the enduring and exceptional relationship shared with Cuba.
Cabinet members expressed their appreciation for the significant contributions of Cuba to Belize, particularly in the fields of healthcare and education, where Cuban doctors and teachers have played vital roles. The Belizean government reiterated its dedication to fostering and deepening these bonds, recognising Cuba as a crucial ally in the Caribbean region.
The government affirms its commitment to the deepening and strengthening of ties with its sister Caribbean nation.
