Murder Charge Dropped Against Ian Herrera in Hattieville Double Homicide

Ian Roy Herrera is a free man tonight after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) entered a nolle prosequi in a double murder trial.  The matter is the October 2023 double murder of 45-year-old, Martin Sho, and 67-year-old, Joel Andrews, in Hattieville, Belize District. Love News understands that the decision to drop the charges against Herrera was made due to insufficient evidence.  Herrera, a 22-year-old resident of Hattieville, had been jointly charged with 25-year-old Blake Norman Lewis, a construction worker, for the two murders. Both men were initially arraigned in August 2024, but with Herrera now removed from the matter, the DPP’s office will proceed with the murder charge against Lewis. His case has been adjourned for November 21.  Meanwhile, he remains remanded at the Belize Central Prison. The victims, Sho and Andrews, were discovered on October 24, 2023, at Andrews’ farm in the Farmers Site Area of Hattieville. Police found the farm ransacked and followed a blood trail that led to the discovery of Sho’s body in a pond and Andrews’ body nearby. The matter is being prosecuted by Crown Counsel Portia Staine-Ferguson.