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He was charged with stabbing a man to death with a broken pint bottle, but tonight 34-year-old Austin Gabourel is a free man. The DPP’s Office has decided to discontinue its prosecution against him.

On the night of April 17th, 2016, Leon Gordon, a 28-year-old resident of Caye Caulker Village, was at the Sip N Dip Bar on the island’s beachfront. He reportedly observed when the bar owner got into a fight with a disorderly patron. Gordon tried to act as a peacemaker, but he was fatally stabbed to the upper left side of his abdomen with a piece of the broken bottle. 

Police arrested and charged Gabourel for his murder. When the case came up before Justice Colin Williams today, Senior Crown Counsel Shanice Lovell informed the court that the DPP’s Office was entering a “nolle prosâ€￾ against Gabourel. She informed the court that their main witness could not be found, despite the police department’s best efforts to locate her.

The judge then informed Gabourel that he was free to go, but, that the DPP’s Office can reinstitute the charge against him at a later date if they so choose. He then allowed Gabriel to leave court a free man.