By Breaking Belize News Staff: Police have charged a La Democracia Village resident in connection with a brazen daylight shooting that left one man dead and another injured earlier this week.
Twenty-seven-year-old Benyahti Brandon, a labourer of La Democracia Village, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon before the Chief Magistrate in Court #1 at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court. Brandon was read two indictable offenses—murder and attempted murder—in relation to the shooting death of Paul Smith Jr. and the wounding of 24-year-old Tyrece Lewis Allen.
The charges stem from a shooting that occurred on Tuesday morning, February 3, 2026, in La Democracia Village. Allen was shot in the knee, treated at hospital, and later released, while Smith Jr. succumbed to his injuries.
Due to the nature of the offenses, bail was denied and Brandon was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until Monday, May 18, 2026, when he is due to return to court. Brandon was represented in court by attorney Orson “OJ” Elrington.
According to police, at about 10:25 a.m. on Tuesday, information was received of shots fired in La Democracia Village. Officers from the Hattieville Police Formation responded to First Street, where they met 21-year-old Destiny Mejia, a park official and girlfriend of Paul Smith Jr. She reported that her boyfriend had been shot and transported to the Western Regional Hospital.
Police investigations revealed that around 9:00 a.m., Smith Jr. was walking with his girlfriend and Tyrece Lewis Allen when a male person emerged from behind a house and fired several shots in their direction. Smith attempted to run but collapsed shortly after.
Allen was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to the knee, where he was treated and later released. Smith Jr. was pronounced dead on arrival by a medical doctor.
Scenes of Crime personnel processed the area and reportedly recovered blood swabs, two knives, and noted the presence of a surveillance camera in the vicinity. Police say video footage from the area led to Brandon’s arrest two days after the incident.
The post Benyahti Brandon remanded for murder and attempted murder after La Democracia daylight shooting appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Police have charged a La Democracia Village resident in connection with a brazen daylight shooting that left one man dead and another injured earlier this week. Twenty-seven-year-old Benyahti Brandon, a labourer of La Democracia Village, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon before the Chief Magistrate in Court #1 at the Belize
The post Benyahti Brandon remanded for murder and attempted murder after La Democracia daylight shooting appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
