7 News Belize

Family Of Murder Victim Complains About Cop/suspect Release
posted (November 4, 2016)
27 year old Belize City resident Jeon Peebles was found dead on Monday morning. He had been executed on the Boom-Hattieville road. The last time he was seen by friends was reportedly on Sunday night when he was picked up by two police officers on Mahogany Street. One police officer was detained - after he handed himself in with his attorney. He was held for 48 hours, when he answered no questions. Police released him yesterday and he has been put back on active duty. For the family of Jeon Peebles, it's an outrage, and special treatment given to a police officer. Today, Jeon's sister who asked to appear off camera told us why the family is angry at the development and concerted that justice will not be served:

Voice of: Shantel Thompson - Jeon's Sister
"The family of Jeon Peebles very concerned because the 2 officers who held Jeon, one of them held him and the next one, we haven't heard anything about him. He is just not in the picture any at all. The one that was held was already released and he is back on duty and working and I don't think that is fair because if it was someone from the street and they did something and the police hold him for that then the person would have not been released."

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"Noe ma'am, you all are convinced that this was the last person who saw your brother. They picked up your brother, you said on Mahogany Street there is surveillance video."

Shantel Thompson - Jeon's Sister
"Yes they have a supermarket store that gave the police the surveillance video that showed that these 2 police placed him in a vehicle and it's not a mark vehicle. It was an unmarked vehicle. They have more than witnesses that pick these officers out in a line up and this officer still get released and we want to know why. If they didn't do it themselves then they are accountable for it too because they had custody of this person and this person ended up dead brutally. Brutally murdered. That is no way for no one to die. I have lost my faith in the police because they are supposed to be the people who uphold the law and show everyone the example. You don't expect that these officers are going to take you to make someone kill you or to kill you themselves. That is the last thing you would expect. So, of course he would accompany them."

Rural police say that the security video is not conclusive, and while they have statements, they need concrete evidence before they can charge the police officer. The file with the statements has been sent to the DPP for advice. In the meantime, police are confident that their colleague-suspect will not abscond. Notably one other police officer is being sought for questioning, but he is on leave.

But there is a huge, and major development coming out of this story this evening. The same police officer who is a suspect and who was just released has been arrested tonight! That's right, reports to our newsroom tell us that he was arrested for drunk driving after police saw him swerving across the western highway. They reportedly had to set chase to get him to stop which is when they found him drunk behind the wheel. So he's back in custody tonight, pending what would expect are criminal charges for drunk driving. We'll release his name next week if and when those charges are filed.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize