7 News Belize

Acquitted Of An Attempted Murder
posted (July 10, 2012)
Also in court today, 24 year-old Ronlee Petillo, the man who was charged with attempted murder for the 2009 shooting of Stackles Monsanto, was acquitted today in the courtroom of Justice Herbert Lord.

Monsanto told police on April 7, at around 9:10 p.m., he was walking on Allenby Street. When he arrived in Amara Avenue, just behind the Saint Ignatius School, a man approached him from behind shot him in the right shoulder, the lower back, the right leg, and right foot.

He even named Petillo as the man he saw fleeing from the area after he was shot, but today, Monsanto took the stand and told the court that he doesn't know who shot him.

When Senior Crown Counsel Cecil Ramirez asked him about the statement, he said that at the time, he told police that Petillo was the one who shot him because he thought that he recognized him.

As a result, Ramirez was forced to close his case, at which point, Justice Lord directed to jury to return a not guilty verdict against Petillo.

Petillo was unable to leave the court freely because he on remand while awaiting trial for the March 15, 2011 murder of 57 year-old Miguel Rivera.

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