By Breaking Belize News Staff: Mark Anthony Stevens, 38, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of Juan Carlos Rios Pineda in 2024.
Stevens entered the guilty plea on Friday afternoon before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court. He appeared virtually from the Belize Central Prison, where he remains on remand.
Stevens had been charged for the June 8, 2024 stabbing of Pineda, a Honduran national and call center agent, who was attacked while walking his dog in Lord’s Ridge Cemetery in Belize City.
According to the agreed facts read in court, Pineda saw Stevens running toward him with a knife and tried to escape. Stevens caught up with him and stabbed him multiple times, including to the neck area. During the attack, Stevens was reportedly heard saying, “I am going to kill you. I hope you die.”
Pineda survived and later positively identified Stevens during an identification parade.
Before accepting the plea, Justice Pilgrim questioned Stevens to ensure that he was pleading guilty freely and voluntarily. Stevens told the court that he had not been forced, pressured, or promised anything in exchange for his plea.
Sentencing has been adjourned to July 3, 2026, when mitigation will be heard on Stevens’ behalf. He is represented by attorney Norman Rodriguez.
At the time of the incident, police reported that Pineda was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after being stabbed several times. Investigators later searched Lord’s Ridge Cemetery and recovered a long-sleeved shirt believed to have been worn by the attacker, along with a wooden-handled kitchen knife believed to have been used in the stabbing.
The post Mark Stevens pleads guilty to attempted murder in 2024 Lord Ridge Cemetery stabbing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Mark Anthony Stevens, 38, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of Juan Carlos Rios Pineda in 2024. Stevens entered the guilty plea on Friday afternoon before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court. He appeared virtually from the Belize Central Prison, where he remains on
The post Mark Stevens pleads guilty to attempted murder in 2024 Lord Ridge Cemetery stabbing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
