7 News Belize

No Suspects In Murder of Guatemalan Businessman
posted (August 2, 2017)

On last night’s news, we broke the story of the murder of a Guatemalan visitor who was shot and robbed near the Lord Ridge Cemetery in Belize City.   Well, police are finally releasing information on the case and they say that the victim, 39 year-old Josue Arizandieta, was here on a business trip.

As we told you he was walking on the George Price Highway with his friend, Walter Lopez on Saturday morning at 9:30, when a gunman robbed them. Arizandieta refused tried to fight off the robber, and he was shot in the process. 

The officer commanding Police Precinct 2’s Criminal Investigation Branch told us today that they have no suspects:

Sgt. Hilberto Novelo - OC, CIB Precinct 2
“Police got information of someone with gunshot wounds at the KHMH. As a result the police responded where they learnt that a Mr. Josue Arizandieta, he's 39 years old Guatemalan; was taken to the Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and to the leg. As a result police visited the George Price Highway by the lord cemetery where they found a 9mm expended shell and a slug. Initial investigations reveal that Mr. Josue Arizandieta was along with another Guatemalan by the name of Mr. Walter Lopez. They were walking on George Price Highway towards the Central American Boulevard when they were approached by a male person, dark complexion male person of slim build who was armed with a firearm and demanded their cellphones and money. As a result Mr. Walter Lopez handed over his cellphone and money and Mr. Josue Arizandieta resisted and struggled with the gunman during which time he was injured in his abdomen and left leg. These people as I mentioned are Guatemalan nationals, they were presently staying at the Caribbean Hotel on the Phillip Goldson Highway. They are salesmen for a company in Guatemala, they were actually doing a survey of prices for cement to do business. At this time we are appealing to the public if you have any information to call the police so that we could follow up any leads."

Daniel Oritz
"So at this time the investigators are having difficulty ascertaining who this person is?"

Sgt. Hilberto Novelo
“Yes, you can say that."

Reporter
"Now is it possible that police are looking to the possibility that these men were being watched given the fact that they were going around looking for prices for cement, this person would know that they would be carrying this amount of money on them?"

Sgt. Hilberto Novelo
"The police believe that these people were being watched as they were walking. I guess that they saw that these guys are not from Belize City and they could know that they were foreigners.â€￾

We got a chance to speak with Walter Lopez, and he declined an on camera interview. He told us that he had already made his police report he intended to attend the post-mortem examination this afternoon, and then try to get his friend’s body back to Guatemala for burial.

They were staying at at nearby Caribbean Hotel which is located at mile 1.5 on the Phillip Goldson Highway.

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