7 News Belize

Danny Mason Guilty!
posted (December 3, 2019)
The verdict is in and Justice Antoinette Moore has ruled. The accused murderers, William Danny Mason, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo, are all guilty of the 2016 decapitating murder of Pastor Lewellyn Lucas. That was the judgment she handed down today after carefully reviewing all the evidence that DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal presented in what is surely the trial of this young century.

It a victory by land-slide for the DPP, and our News team was in Belmopan for close examination of the verdict. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Justice Antoinette Moore, a passenger in this SUV, was the first to leave the court after delivering today's big verdict. She has found William Danny Mason, and his fellow accused, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo guilty of the July 2016 Murder Pastor Lewellyn Lucas.

Whether it's jaded sarcasm, or simply just a tendency toward low expectations, there were many Belizeans who suspected that these defendants would be acquitted. But in her summary judgment, Justice Moore said that based on the DPP's large quantity of evidence, she could not help but arrive at a guilty verdict.

Pastor Lucas' loved-ones were in court for the decision, and his sister was brought to tears, no doubt relieved that his accused killers are now convicted of the crime.

Keixa Usher - Niece of Pastor Lucas
"I think it was tears of joy because she is very happy, overwhelmed, I guess."

Louis Wade - Leader, #IWantMyCountryBack
"I think it speaks well for the justice system within our country that a person who had a very high profile in the political circles, as well as in the business community was able to hear 'guilty'. There are people like Mason who believe that the policing system and the investigating system are weak and that they can get away with murder, literally. And I think today, the people who work on the side of justice can hold their head up high. So, on behalf of the IWantMyCountryBack movement, we want to say thank you to the hundreds of people that have worked very hard."

Keixa Usher
"I am very happy, and like mom always says, God is in control. We knew that this would have happened. We were convinced that my uncle would have received justice because of the person he was."

Louis Wade
"He was a young man who worked on behalf of various unions, and social movements to bring about a better living for Belizeans. He came from the United States, back to Belize to try in his own way, to help Belizean elevate their standard of living, and he ended up killed brutally."

Keixa Usher
"I can't seem to understand why he died the way he did because he was a really good person. But, I know that God has his own way of doing everything, and he knows why it happened."

We also got an off-the-cuff reaction from 2 of the defense attorneys about the trial's outcome, and the fact that they couldn't convince the judge to come to an acquittal.

Bryan Neal - Attorney for Keiron Fernandez
"I feel for my client. He has been convicted of a very serious offense. The court has obviously considered all the evidence, and its view, all 5 defendants have now been found guilty of murder."

Reporter
"Have you and your client ever discussed the possibility that he could have been found guilty here today? And have been any discussions of possibly an appeal of it."

Bryan Neal
"Well, any good lawyer is to indicate to their client that you might be convicted, or you can be acquitted, and we had discussed that. I don't want to get into whether or not - that is for him to - you will know within 21 days of the conviction. The Court of Appeal Act requires him to file a notice, and I will believe that he seems to want to retain counsel. I haven't been retained for the appeal. I was only appointed by the court, but it seems from my assessment that he might want to appeal the decision. He's not satisfied."

Reporter
"Do you believe then that if this goes to the appellate jurisdiction that it will be upheld, based on the fact that there is DNA evidence, electronic evidence, and all these other forms of proof that has been provided."

Norman Rodriguez - Attorney for Ashton Vanegas
"If it goes to a higher court, there will be grounds of appeal."

Reporter
"Sir, one of the salient points that your fellow attorneys defending the accused persons suggested is that the authorities handled this particular matter poorly, causing contamination. The judge is of a completely different view."

Bryan Neal
"And that is her right. She is the trier of fact and law at this first instant stage, and it is absolutely up to her to determine which facts she accepts, and which she rejects. She has, from my understanding of her summary ruling just now, accepted almost all of the prosecution's facts, and that is her right to do."

Reporter
"The judge has given a glowing recommendation of the forensics, and the investigating officer, when you and your other colleagues, were trying to convince the court that he handled the particular case sloppily. What's your comment?"

Norman Rodriguez
"You heard us say in court that he handled it sloppily?"

Reporter
"Cross-contamination though, sir. Cross-contamination suggests that they handled it poorly."

Norman Rodriguez
"I had no reason to comment on cross-contamination because there was no blood found on my client's clothing."

Justice Moore has deferred their sentencing hearing to a date to be announced.

In today's verdict, Moore told the court that she went through a very meticulous study of the evidence.

Justice Moore noted the fact that there was no eyewitness to the crime, but that the DPP's circumstantial evidence was so convincing, that she had no choice but to conclude that these men all played a role in Pastor Lucas' gruesome murder.

The most important pieces of evidence from the prosecution was the video surveillance footage which police confiscated from the security system at Mason's Intelco Hill Home; the electronic evidence in the form of telephone calls between Mason, Lucas, and the prosecution witness Richard Smith; and the discovery of Pastor Lue's head in the back of Mason's vehicle.

For the video surveillance, you'll remember that the defense attorneys made strenuous attempts to convince the judge that its quality is not good enough to rely on. The DPP disagreed, and she told the court that if the frames of the video clips were carefully studied frame-by-frame, each of the 5 men could be identified, and the entire kidnapping portion of this crime could be followed. After her own study, the judge agreed.

She also noted that the DNA evidence against some of the defendants was very convincing. Blood matching the DNA profile of Pastor Lucas was found on the clothing of the 3 of the accused men. Charred bones, believed to be the remains of Pastor Lucas' burnt body was found on Mason's Outback Ranch. Although the defense attorneys attempted to convince the Justice Moore that this evidence was cross-contaminated due to the handling by the Belize forensics experts, she instead found that they did exemplary and commendable forensics work on this case. She also congratulated the investigating officer for his good police work in swiftly taking the necessary steps to retrieve the surveillance footage, the bloody clothes, and to search Mason's vehicle, which led to the discovery of the head. She said that without these pieces of evidence, proving the case against these men would have been more difficult.

But, according to the judge, even if she excluded each piece of the circumstantial evidence, one at a time, as if they were not a part of the trial, she is of the view that she would have still concluded that the defendants were guilty.

Of important note is that there is still the kidnapping case that 4 of these 5 men still have to stand trial for.

Mason, Fernandez, Vanegas, Ernest Castillo, and Mason's farmhand, Ryan Rhaburn are accused of kidnapping Canadian Lloyd Friessen and his wife Rosie. Friessen. He claims that Mason conned him out of 300 thousand dollars, and then lured him and his wife to Mason's Intelco Hill home. They say that Mason and his associates kidnapped them and took them to Mason's ranch, where he threatened them. The case will now start going through the motions and a full trial will take place sometime in the future.

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