Four San Pedro Men Convicted in Deadly 2021 Attack on Fishermen

Four San Pedro men have been convicted of murder or attempted murder in connection with a deadly attack on fishermen at sea in October 2021. A fifth man, Sergio Tun, was acquitted of two counts of attempted murder.  Justice Candace Nanton delivered the verdicts today, finding Gabriel Villafranco and Carlos Salazar guilty of murdering Jerry Espat and attempting to murder his brother, Kirian Espat. Pedro Tun and Delsin Paguada were each found guilty of attempting to murder Ricardo and Luis Santoya.  The case arose from an attack on October 2, 2021, while the four fishermen were in the Congrejo area near San Pedro. According to the prosecution’s evidence, armed men approached in two boats and opened fire. Ricardo and Luis Santoya escaped in their boat but were pursued and shot at as they headed towards San Pedro.  Jerry and Kirian Espat were left in the water, where they came under attack from men in another boat. Jerry was shot multiple times and killed. Kirian survived the attack and gave police a statement identifying Villafranco and Salazar. He died approximately six months later. The charge relating to the attack on Kirian remained attempted murder.  Kirian’s statement was admitted into evidence during the trial. In explaining her findings, Justice Nanton relied on that statement and other prosecution evidence, rejecting the alibi defences presented by the four men she convicted.  However, the judge found that the identification evidence against Sergio Tun was insufficient to establish his guilt. He had been accused of being aboard the boat involved in the attack on the Santoya brothers.  Armed police maintained security around the court as the verdicts were delivered. The four convicted men were remanded to the Belize Central Prison pending mitigation and sentencing, scheduled for December 2.