7 News Belize

Judge Says Jeweller Not Guilty
posted (February 28, 2020)
Last week, we told you about all about the murder trial without a jury of 57-year-old Manuel Pacheco. For about a little over a year, the well-known jeweler from Belize City had been on remand for shooting and killing 50-year-old Jose Villanueva. Well, tonight he is a free man after he was acquitted by Justice Colin Williams.

As we told you, Senior Crown Counsel Shanice Lovell called an eyewitness who told the court that she saw when Pacheco gunned Villanueva down after they got into some hard-talk over Villanueva's dog.

In his defense, Pacheco told the court in a dock statement that he shot Villanueva in self-defense. He claims that Villanueva threatened him after he confronted Villanueva about his dog which had been barking for 3 consecutive days. According to Pacheco, he was in fear of his life because Villanueva tried to draw his gun first.

Well, after consideration of the evidence from both the prosecution and the defense, Justice Williams rejected the testimony of the prosecution's main witness. He came to the view that her version of events was unreliable. He was also of the opinion that she didn't see the shooting, and that she was recounting what she was told to say.

After sharing his views on the discrepancies he found in the prosecution's case, he later concluded that Pacheco was not guilty of murder. With that, he concluded the case and allowed Pacheco to leave the court. He was represented by Senior Counsel Ellis Arnold.

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