He's been on remand at Prison for 3 years and 3 months but tonight, 22-year-old Lionel Kelly, a resident of Mayflower Street, is at home with his family. That's after he was acquitted yesterday in a trial without a jury of the murder of 20-year-old Tevin Palmer.
Viewers may remember that violent evening of July 6th, 2016. On that day, there was a surge of gun violence in Belize City which left 3 men dead. 20-year-old Tevin Palmer was among the casualties. He had ties to a city gang.
At around 2:35 p.m. that day, he was sitting on a couch, in the company of family and friends when someone familiar with the home, pulled out a 9 mm pistol and fired at least five shots in his direction.
In the trial against Kelly, the prosecution's main witness was a relative of the deceased. He had given police a statement in which he named Kelly as the shooter. When Crown Counsel Portia Ferguson called him to testify, however, he took the stand and told the court that he couldn't remember what happened that day. Without this witness's evidence, the prosecution's case against Kelly fell apart.
Kelly's attorney, Simeon Sampson, then made a no-case submission his behalf, and after consideration, Justice Williams upheld it. He found Kelly not guilty and allowed him to leave court free.
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