Murder Trial Delayed After Key Witness Fails to Appear

The murder trial of two Belize City men has been postponed after the prosecution’s main witness failed to appear in the High Court this morning.  Twenty-eight-year-old Ulide Allen and twenty-six-year-old Marquis Conorquie were expected to stand trial before Justice Nigel Pilgrim for the June 2024 murder of thirty-two-year-old Stanley Jerome Moore.  The prosecution informed the court that the witness had reportedly confirmed earlier today that he would attend the trial. When he failed to appear, police were given time to try to locate him, but those efforts were unsuccessful.  The Crown subsequently applied for an adjournment, which Justice Pilgrim granted. The trial has now been scheduled for September 16 and 17, when the court expects it to begin and conclude.  Allen and Conorquie have spent more than two years on remand awaiting trial. In light of the latest delay, Justice Pilgrim offered each man bail of sixteen thousand dollars, supported by four sureties of four thousand dollars each.  Allen was able to secure bail. Conorquie, however, was returned to the Belize Central Prison because he is currently serving a sentence of one year and five months for robbery. His attorney, Ronell Gonzalez, says that conviction is under appeal.  The bail comes with strict conditions. The accused must attend every court hearing and report to the Mahogany Street Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. They must remain at least one hundred yards away from the Crown’s main witness and are prohibited from contacting or interfering with any prosecution witness, either personally, through another person or on social media.  They must also surrender their travel documents, refrain from applying for replacements without the court’s permission and observe a curfew from eight at night until five in the morning. They are not permitted to leave the country without approval from a High Court judge.  Justice Pilgrim warned that bail may be revoked if either man breaches those conditions or is charged with or convicted of another offence.  The charges arose from a shooting on June 23, 2024. Police say Moore was travelling in a BMW driven by twenty-seven-year-old Joshua Gillett when two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside the vehicle near Mahogany Street Extension and Amandala Drive.  The motorcycle passenger allegedly opened fire on the vehicle, fatally injuring Moore and wounding Gillett. The assailants then escaped along Amandala Drive.  Moore was later found inside the vehicle at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Gillett was treated for gunshot injuries.  Allen is represented by attorney Michael Peyrefitte, while Conorquie is represented by attorney Ronell Gonzalez.