By Breaking Belize News Staff: Nearly four years after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the killing of Police Constable Osbourne Martinez, two Belize City men are still waiting to be sentenced.
Tyrique Myles and Glen Lopez appeared before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court this week as the court moved to finally conclude sentencing proceedings stemming from the November 2, 2018 killing of the 27-year-old police officer.
The two men pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in November 2022 after initially being charged jointly with murder alongside Rayford Mejia. At the time, Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft had been presiding over the matter.
Justice Pilgrim reportedly acknowledged the lengthy delay and indicated that the court does not want the matter prolonged any further. The Crown, represented by Senior Crown Counsel Riis Cattouse, and defence attorneys Norman Rodriguez and Orson “OJ” Elrington have been instructed to put together the material necessary for sentencing, including an agreed statement of facts and mitigation submissions.
The matter has now been adjourned to October 8, 2026, for sentencing.
The case dates back almost eight years. Martinez was shot while responding to an armed robbery at the Belcove Hotel on Regent Street West in downtown Belize City. Police reports at the time said three armed men entered the hotel and robbed persons inside before officers arrived. Martinez was shot in the abdomen and later died while undergoing treatment at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
Myles, Lopez and Mejia were subsequently arrested and jointly charged with murder and robbery-related offences. Police also recovered firearms following the confrontation near the Haulover Creek.
While Myles and Lopez opted to plead guilty to manslaughter, Mejia maintained his innocence and went to trial. In May 2023, Justice Sandcroft found Mejia guilty of murder after accepting prosecution evidence that he had fired the shot that killed Martinez.
On June 29, 2023, Mejia was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole, with time already spent on remand deducted from that period.
During sentencing, Sandcroft stressed the seriousness of killing a police officer in the execution of his duties and noted that Martinez had lost his life while responding to an emergency and attempting to protect members of the public.
Nearly three years after Mejia was sentenced — and almost four years after their own guilty pleas — Myles and Lopez are now expected to learn their sentences when the matter returns to court on October 8.
The post Nearly four years after guilty pleas, two men still awaiting sentence for 2018 manslaughter killing of PC Osbourne Martinez appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Nearly four years after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the killing of Police Constable Osbourne Martinez, two Belize City men are still waiting to be sentenced. Tyrique Myles and Glen Lopez appeared before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court this week as the court moved to finally conclude sentencing
The post Nearly four years after guilty pleas, two men still awaiting sentence for 2018 manslaughter killing of PC Osbourne Martinez appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
