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Jules Vasquez, Reporting
This is the very center of San Ignacio Town: the junction of Burns Avenue, Hudson and Savannah Streets. This morning as it is on any weekday morning it was bustling. It was pretty much the same on Sunday morning at 3 as patrons of the many clubs and night spots were making their way home. Dean Dougal, his girlfriend and Marlon Rivera were amongst those sitting on this table waiting for a taxi. They sat behind a police mobile. When the mobile drove forward to respond to a fight that was happening 30 feet away at this corner, Dougal and Moreno also turned that way to see the fight. That's when a gunman believed to be this man Donicio "Life" Salazar walked up from behind and opened fire.

Inspector Claudio Mai - 2nd I.C. - Cayo
"Police responding discovered two male persons lying on the street with gunshot wounds to their back. They were immediately transported to the community hospital in San Ignacio where Marlon Rivera was pronounced dead on arrival at the San Ignacio hospital. The other person, Dean Dougal was later that morning transported to the Belmopan community hospital where has been reported to be in a stable condition."

Alberto August, Brother of Gunshot Victim
"This gunman just sneaked up from behind and then from close range fired three shots at him, turned the gun at the guy who was along with him, fired two other shots and then by that time I was made to understand that the firearm he was carrying ran out of bullets and by that time my brother's girlfriend on seeing what happened she ran up the street where the police vehicle was at and he was running behind her with the gun. Fortunately for her the gun was out of bullets and all that was happening what that it was clicking as he was going along."

Rivero was killed and Dougal barely survived.

Alberto August
"Almost killed him.... The other guy dropped dead on the spot and he almost killed my brother. The doctors are telling me that he is lucky to be alive. My brother is strong man. He sustained one gunshot wound to the head, one to the neck and one to the left shoulder. He underwent seven hours of operation yesterday morning in Belmopan at the Western Regional Hospital. He began the operation from 7 in the morning and it was completed at 2 pm. The doctors were able to successfully remove the bullet from his head and the one from his throat. Because his body is stressed right now they are telling me that they will wait for a few hours to see how he reacts to the first two surgeries before they proceed with removing the bullet from his left shoulder."

Police have recovered the weapon that was use in the shooting.

Inspector Claudio Mai
"Top Investigation by my police resulted in the recovery of what we believe is the murder weapon, so have done quite well in this."

The gun was found here in this garbage can near the river off Savannah Street.

Alberto August
"He threw the gun under a car. One of his friends retrieved the gun, brought it across the street and handed it to another person who I was made to understand proceeded to conceal it inside a garbage drum on the banks of the Macal River. Initially one of the guys told the police that he threw it into the river. Obviously saying that he made a connection between himself and the gun. The police were searching the river for the gun but they did not find it and so they went back realizing that the gun was in a garbage container somewhere then they begin to interview him further and it was then that he led police to the garbage drum around 5 - 6:30 yesterday evening to the garbage drum at the banks of the Macal river where the gun was retrieved from. It was found to be a 380 caliber chrome pistol, empty."

Inspector Claudio Mai
"The motive of this Jules we don't know, we would want to find out although police have detained various individuals in respect incident we are still for one Donicio Salazar who we believe can assist greatly in our investigation."

And for August the name of the suspect alone provides the motive. That's because of June 2004 Salazar killed August's son Danny in Cayo and now almost exactly 2 years later he is the main suspect in the attempted murder of August's brother.

Alberto August
"On the 28 of June 2004, he just sneaked up behind my son, my eldest child and chopped him almost in half. My child died 8 hours later. And now almost 6 years later two weeks short of that anniversary now he sneaked up on my brother and almost kill him."

According to August this was the culmination of a series of threats from Salazar to the August family.

Alberto August
"On the night in question they were at the first spot and he arrived there. So when my brother saw him, he walked out of the area and then he came to a second area about half an hour later he showed up at the second area. That was when he decided that it was time to go home. So he left the second area and was waiting for his taxi when this guy just approached from behind again."

Jules Vasquez
"Did they have a misunderstanding? Any words exchanged at those night spots that you can say that the gunman took it as some type of provocation?"

Alberto August
"There was no exchange to the best of my knowledge. As my little brother saw him, he just stepped out."

Jules Vasquez
"He intentionally avoids him."

Alberto August
"Precisely."

By August'sw reckoning Salazar should not even be a free man.

Alberto August
"He was arrested and remanded to custody, he finally came to court during October session court and in 2006 the case ended directly on my son's birthday. On the 8 December 2006 where he was convicted and was sentenced to life in prison. Unbelievable as it seems, at the time the attorney requested an appeal and it came through. I would want to probably issue an invitation to the Judge who sat on that trial and to the defense counsel to come and visit the Rivera family today to see the pain that the Rivera family is going through. The same pain that I went through almost 8 years ago. It tends to re-inforce the feeling that the Belizean people have that for some reason the judiciary is not serving our purpose. A man convicted and sentence to life in prison was out here again six years later another family is grieving."

Voice of Uncle of Murder Victim
"The system really need to get their statistic together. This man could have been in jail and my nephew could have been alive right now. What kind of life are we living? The law need to do something more better to get them people off the streets instead of having them hold for a moment and send them out here doing the same thing."

Police are looking for Dionicio "Life" Salazaar and Cayo cops say he may have headed for Belize City. Dougal is still stable in the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan while Rivera's family is making plans for his funeral.