7 News Belize

Murder Victim Lerone, Dead, But Not Forgotten
posted (April 13, 2012)
Last week Thursday Lerone Johnson was killed in an explosive murder - shot to the head in a robbery. His murder was shocking; 21 year old Leron was a working man - had been from the age of 15. The bus driver for Cavetubing.com was not known to be involved in gang or underworld activity.

The news of his murder broke out on Thursday evening - but it was washed away in the flood of blood from a particularly violent Easter weekend - that left four dead from violence in the Belize district.

And while many of us in the public may have already forgotten the name, Leron Johnson - his family and friends can't forget - his absence has left a gaping hole in their everyday life.

And that's why they invited us to his wake last night. Now, as media, we don't do wakes; we feel we're already invasive enough as it is - and a family's grieving process should be private. But his wake was not private; it was a community event on Faber's road. His family and friends invited us there last night so that we could see and show how many people are left devastated by the loss of one life. Here's what we found:

Jules Vasquez reporting
The street was cordoned off - like a block party - but this was no party, it was a wake, with the images of the deceased young man flickering on a screen - just as his light had briefly flickered across life's stage.

His boss, Yohnny Rosado knew him best:

Yohnnie Rosado - Owner, Cavetubing.com
"He was a special young man, but the people on the street they see you special, they see us as a rabbit like something they can prey on you and that was Lerone Johnson you know, and that was one of the reason, hopefully Channel 7 could air this story to amplify that this young man was nothing but an angel. The way he got killed, it was the same way to take a sheep to a slaughterhouse and kill it."

Those were the sentiments of many we spoke to - they called him 7 - a lucky number, and fittingly because for his coworkers, he was a sort of good luck charm:

Blain Caliz - former co-worker, cavetubing.com
"I think about it, every time I see a picture, every time I look at the bus I think about that dude."

Evan Williams - Former Co-Worker, Cavetubing.com
"They took him away from us but they could never take away what we have in our hearts our memories of Lerone. Now he is a person who always put a smile on everyone's face no matter what."

Yohnnie Rosado - Owner, Cavetubing.com
"That the smile on his face, he always has a smile on his face. In order to be successful you have to have a smile on your face with your boss with your co-workers and with your enemies, and that's probably the smile he gave the guys you put a bullet through his head before killing him, that was Lerone that was 7 right there, Lerone Johnson was a cute kid he told his mom he couldn't make it through school, he didn't like school, he tried to get a job. It's the worse testimony for me because he is a young man who could not finish school. I gave him the best as a father or a mother could give, and he was the best driver the best person in life. He was driving a bus when he was 19 years old; a big MCI bus, a special bus. So you can image him impressing all his friends. He was a successful young man that every person would want to be. It is sad to say but when you are successful in your life, you have to be successful and run for your life."

Jefferson Dawson Jr. - Former Co-Worker, Cavetubing.com
"Whenever you are successful, people envy you, Instead of they going to work and get their own things they bring you down and they still aint going to do nothing because whomever robbed him; they money probably finished already! you know. It didn't serve any purpose, it only caused people pain and grief."

And the air was thick with grief last night - the yard, and the block filled with mourners - asking those unanswerable questions that are asked at every wake:

Friend
"You know a lot of parents goes on the media and say that their son doesn't do anybody nothing and blah blah blah, but the truth will be told. This youth doesn't give any trouble, as far as I know the youth he is humble he deals with his family when he come home from work, he takes care of his mother. When you ask him to go hang out he says no. So the type of death he faced troubles me a bit because I want to know what they dealt with the man like that. If it's just to rob him, then rob him, but don't kill him."

Yohnnie Rosado - Owner, Cavetubing.com
"Why him, but probably we don't know, it's a mystery."

The funeral for Lerone Johnson was held today. No arrest has been made, but we did speak to one former co-worker from cavetubing.com who told us he was detained - and he says he is being unjustly implicated.

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