On Friday's news, we told you about the senseless murder of 30-year-old Geovanni Lennan on Welch Street in Belize City. He's the firefighter and athlete who was gunned down and killed while he was heading home from work last week Thursday night.
Police said that they caught a young man fleeing the scene of the crime, and over the weekend, they formally arrested and charged him. He's 18-year-old Denver Bevans, a resident of Cemetery Road, who is now facing 1 count of murder, and one count of aggravated assault.
At today's police press conference, the Deputy Head of the National Criminal Investigations Branch briefly discussed this swift arrest that they've made for Lennon's killing. Here's what he had to say on this case:
Sr. SUPT., Hilberto Romero
"Reference the murder of Giovanni Lennan. We have since arrested and charged Denver Bevans 18 years for the crime of murder. He was also additionally charged for the crime of aggravated assault against a Police officer. This is after an investigation was done and several statements and interviews were recorded."
Cherisse Halsall;
"Sir, Bevans told the court during his arraignment that Police fractured his mandible and that is why he couldn't address the chief magistrate. Any knowledge as to whether that is true."
Sr. SUPT., Hilberto Romero
"I am not certain."
Reporter:
"Sir can you disseminate details in terms of the incident that led to him being charged from assault weapons."
Sr. SUPT., Hilberto Romero
"He had pointed his weapon at a police officer who was in the area, that is after the shooting."
As noted in our story, Bevans was arraigned today before Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer on murder for Geovanni Lennan's fatal shooting and aggravated assault which he allegedly committed against one of the police officers who responded to the shooting in progress. During the arraignment, Chief Magistrate Frazer was attempting to confirm his personal information to ensure that the details that the police provided about him were accurate. She had to ask him to speak up, and that's when he explained to the court that he is unable to speak properly because he suffering from a fractured jaw. He alleges that police inflicted the injury when they brutalized him.
Outside of court, we met Bevans' mother, and she also made the same claim. She says that after police detained her son, they allegedly inflicted a beatdown on him in an attempt to get whatever information they could out of him about Lennan's killing.
During the arraignment, the Chief Magistrate ordered that police escort him to seek medical attention before he is taken to the Belize Central Prison. Due to the nature of the offenses, he was not granted bail, and he has been remanded into custody until January 7th, 2020.
Email
Print