Cop and BDF Soldier Found Guilty in Jessie Escobar Case

A police officer and a Belize Defence Force (BDF) soldier have been found guilty of perverting the course of justice in connection with the 2021 shooting death of BDF soldier, Jessie Escobar, in Santa Familia Village, Cayo District.  This morning, the Senior Magistrate presiding over the matter, handed down the guilty verdict against Corporal Juan Carlos Morales of the Belize Police Department and Private Ramon Alberto Alcoser of the Belize Defence Force. Both men have been remanded to prison pending sentencing, which has been scheduled for December 4.  Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Vidal spoke on the decision and explained what transpired in the courtroom.

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions: “First she found that the statements had been given and that the defendants were in a proper state of mind to have give the statement. Because part of their defense was that they were tired and they were hungry and that they shouldn’t have been made to give those statements. But our evidence was that they did not indicate at any time that they were not in a position to give those statements and that they gave them of their own free will. Before she found that they had given them and that they were lawfully given. Then she went through the actual statements themselves to show what had been said by each of the defendants and then she went through what the wife of Jesse Escobar had said in her evidence, and then you would have seen, painstakingly, through what she herself obtained from the recordings and as you may recall, the recording showed very clearly that Jesse never reached out and grabbed anyone’s gun. It showed very clearly that he was not behaving in any aggressive manner towards the person who eventually shot him. But in their statements, they were painting a picture that these civilians were behaving in a very aggressive manner and that Jesse, who was a soldier himself off duty, was threatening Private Raheem Valencio and going towards him with an intention to disarm him and the matters here in found that would not at all supported by the video evidence. We have felt before that sometimes law enforcement officers would have not told the entire truth in matters in order to shield their colleagues who may have shot or killed persons. But in this particular case, we had evidence to show that the version of events given by this soldier and this police officer was entirely fabricated. I believe it’s a warning to law enforcement that moving forward they should stop and think before they try to fabricate an account. But we are not saying that it is done routinely or repeatedly but I am certain that it has happened in the past perhaps this is a warning that it should not happen in the future.”

The case stems from the September 5, 2021, incident at the Branch Mouth Shop and Store in Santa Familia Village, Cayo District, where law enforcement officers reportedly came under attack by villagers during a heated confrontation. In the chaos that followed, BDF soldier Jessie Escobar was fatally shot, an event that triggered national outrage and led to an internal investigation.  Both men will remain behind bars until sentencing next month./