The Southside of Belize City has the highest murder rate in the country
– it is at least one and a half times higher than the national average.
And while, sadly, killings have become a regular feature of life on the mean
streets south of the Belize river, in most cases the motive is gang rivalry,
turf wars, one of those famous old beefs, or a case of mistaken identity. But
when business owner Jason Coombs was executed in the middle of his company’s
compound – in the Southside yesterday – the crime took on an entirely
different profile because it didn’t fit neatly into any of those categories.
He was known to be a self-made businessman and a particularly hard working one.
So why was he the target of a deliberate and well-planned hit? More than a hit,
senior police personnel we spoke to suspect it was a contract killing.
It has profoundly shocked and disturbed the business community whose
members are shaking their heads and openly worrying about what can happen –
even to those who walk the straight and narrow. Keith Swift has been looking
for answers today, and he put the pieces together and found a picture that demonstrates
a high level of criminal orchestration.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The killers drove into the compound of Pre-Con Limited around 5 pm yesterday
in a tinted gold coloured Toyota Corolla.
Manuel Cruz, Employee
“I saw when the car came in, a tinted car, but I wasn’t paying
it no mind because I thought they were going into the office to see somebody
or the secretary for something.”
But instead of the office, the car drove up to where Jason Coombs was standing
in the middle of the compound. Coombs bent over to speak to the driver, reports
are that the driver asked about the price of a load of concrete and Coombs peered
in to tell him and a short while after that…
Manuel Cruz,
“I heard the gunshot but I didn’t expect that my boss got shot.
I didn’t expect it. But when I turned 
around back so, then I see the car driving out and then when I looked I saw him on the ground.”
Coombs had been shot in the temple and the back. He died on the spot. Witnesses
tell us that after the shooting – instead of racing off, the car slowly
circled the compound and then drove off. Police say the murder seems to have
been a carefully planned and executed hit on the well known businessman.
Clemente Palacio, Police Press Officer
“The driver entered the compound, it seems like he knows who he was
talking to and when the shots were fired, that was the end of the story.”
Keith Swift,
“Do you believe the driver is the one who fired the shots or was it a
passenger?”
Clemente Palacio,
“Well again this case is in its investigative stage so it wouldn’t
be proper for me to speculate but we believe that the shots came from that vehicle
and we won’t go into the amount of persons in the car and all of that
because there is no kind of certainty.”
As for the motive, police don’t believe it was robbery since nothing
was stolen.
Clemente Palacio,
“We note that it can’t be a robbery because the circumstances
do not bear that out and in a case of this magnitude it is difficult to ascertain. 
It is an ongoing investigation and police are following as much leads.”
And those leads led police to Malcolm Street last night which is where they
found the tinted gold Toyota Corolla that was used in the murder. Police found
three 9 milimeter expended shells inside.
It is a murder that has shocked the 38 year old businessman’s friends
and customers and rocked his employees like Mario Gonzalez. He wasn’t
on the compound at the time of the murder but he’s worked for Jason Coombs
for 9 years. He says Jason was like family to him.
Mario Gonzalez, Employee of Deceased
“It is difficult for me being with Jason for 9 years. He has been
very nice to me, everyday we talk. I do my duties I am supposed to do, he is
satisfied with what I do and we’ve never had no quarrel so I am really
shocked with what happened to him.”
Keith Swift,
“Did you know him to have had problems with anyone?”
Mario Gonzalez,
“Of course, like I said in the past 9 years I have never seen him
involved with no one. No one had any quarrels with him.”
But someone did and police say their top priority is finding the killer.
Clemente Palacio,
“The Department is very concerned and again we appeal to the general
public for assistance, for any information leading to the perpetrator of this
crime or perpetrators if there are more. When a murder of this type takes place
the community is always rattled and of course we’ve always maintained
that the police cannot do it alone, we need that type of public support in dealing
with matters like these. But yes the Police Department is very concerned and
yes they are conducting a very intensive investigation.”
A few notes, Malcolm Street where the car was found is about half a
mile from the Pre-Con compound where the crime occurred.
Police believe the car is stolen but they can’t say who it is
for because – according to investigators - the VIN number does not match
the car – which again seems to point to the sophistication of the plot.
So police are asking anyone who might recognize the car to call the CIB office
or the crime stoppers hotline at 0-800-922-TIPS.
6 people remain detained this evening, and police are confident that
they will have arrests. But, as we said earlier, the belief of senior police
personnel is that it was a contract killing, and so apart from finding those
who did it, they will have to find those behind the killing.
Funeral services for Coombs – who was a US citizen and naturalized
Belizean will be held in his family’s home of South Florida sometime next
week. A memorial service will be held on Saturday in Ladyville.
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