Taxi operator receives disclosure in Old Belize murder case

Thirty-year-old taxi operator Joseph Gabourel Vaccaro has received disclosure in the murder case arising from the September 2025 shooting death of Gaston Barrow.  Vaccaro, who appeared without legal representation before the Chief Magistrate in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court yesterday, was provided with 154 pages of documents, five compact discs and photographs forming part of the prosecution’s evidence.  The matter was adjourned until September 7, when a preliminary inquiry is scheduled to begin. That process will determine whether sufficient evidence exists for Vaccaro to stand trial in the High Court.  Vaccaro is accused of fatally shooting Barrow at the Old Belize compound on September 28, 2025. He was arraigned on the murder charge on October 6 and remanded to the Belize Central Prison. No plea was taken because the charge is indictable.  According to police, officers responded to reports of gunfire at Old Belize and later visited the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where Barrow and another man, identified as Hank Carr, were found with apparent gunshot injuries. Barrow was pronounced dead, while Carr was treated and later released.  Investigators allege that Carr was driving a vehicle with Barrow in the front passenger seat and two women in the rear when a man near a taxi opened fire. Police say surveillance footage reviewed during the investigation led to Vaccaro’s detention.